NCAA tournament projections: San Diego State remains among last four teams in the bracket
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Following Saturday’s regular season finale victory over Nevada, San Diego State sits on the right side of the bracket according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi.
The Aztecs closed out the regular season at 21-8 overall and 14-6 within the Mountain West Conference. They finished the year in fourth place, earning themselves a first-round bye in the conference tournament and a matchup against five-seed Boise State to open the tournament on Thursday in Las Vegas.
San Diego State has won 10 of their past 13 games, earning season sweeps of Boise State and Nevada along the way. Two of their past four losses, dating back to mid-January, have come at the hands of UNLV. The Aztecs had beaten the Runnin’ Rebels 12 of the past 14 games before this season. A matchup between San Diego State and UNLV this postseason would require both teams to make the conference tournament championship game, held annually on UNLV’s home floor at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Lunardi has the Aztecs slotted in atop the list of the last four teams currently in the tournament. As an 11-seed, San Diego State would meet up with 11-seed Xavier, currently the last team in the tournament according to Lunardi. The game would be a first four matchup played in Dayton, Ohio. The winner would head to Denver to take on 11-seed Illinois. Texas A&M and Utah Valley are the two other teams in that quadrant.
New Mexico, the Mountain West Conference regular season champion and top seed in this week’s conference tournament, has remained as a nine-seed in recent weeks according to many bracketologists. The Lobos would take on eight-seed Gonzaga in Raleigh, North Carolina. Top-seed Florida and Norfolk State would be on the other side of the quadrant.
Utah State, the reigning regular season champion in the conference, scuffled down the stretch this season, finishing in third place in the 11-team league. The Aggies have seen their tournament resume regress in recent weeks. Lunardi currently has Utah State as one of the last four teams in with a bye. The Aggies are listed among Baylor, Arkansas and Indiana. They’re currently slotted as a 10-seed in the West Region, along with San Diego State and New Mexico. They would head to Wichita, Kansas for a first-round matchup with seven-seed Ole Miss while Texas Tech and Bryant play on the other side of the quadrant.
Boise State and Colorado State, who played on Friday to close out the regular season, are both among Lunardi’s first four teams out. Listed alongside Texas and North Carolina, the Broncos and Rams have work to do in Las Vegas, leaving the conference on shaky ground after seeing six teams make the field a year ago.
Colorado State, the two-seed in the conference tournament, will await Wednesday’s winner between Nevada and Fresno State. Boise State has the better chance to build their resume this week. The Broncos open against San Diego State on Thursday and with a win would likely see top-seed New Mexico in the semifinal round.
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-770033d1c5c4820fdbde4ecf2452e810.jpg "Bodie De Silva")
Bodie DeSilva has been covering sports in San Diego for more than a decade. He previously covered San Diego State athletics for Scout/Fox Sports.