San Diego State clinging to NCAA Tournament spot in latest ESPN Bracketology projection
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The San Diego State Aztecs are hanging on for dear life in the latest ESPN Bracketology projections, but expert Joe Lunardi sees good things if the Aztecs beat Grand Canyon at home on Tuesday night.
Lunardi has the Aztecs as the last team into the Field of 68 in his Tuesday morning projection, a drop of one spot since Friday. But he said a win over the Antelopes in a Mountain West showdown at Viejas Arena “would give the Aztecs the MWC autobid and remove them from the at-large pool.”
OK, so the pressure is on for SDSU against a team that has given it fits in recent years, including handing the Aztecs a 70-69 defeat in Phoenix on Jan. 21.
Then again, the Aztecs have known for some time that their struggles against in the non-conference schedule — most notably lopsided losses to Arizona and Michigan — meant their best shot at reaching the NCAA Tournament for the sixth straight season is to win the MWC tournament and the accompanying automatic bid.
Lunardi has the Aztecs (18-6, 12-2 Mountain West) slotted for a First Four date with UCLA, with the winner getting the No. 11 seed in the Midwest Region and a first-round matchup with No. 6 Tennessee in Portland.
That would be an intriguing matchup of West Coast teams that played an exhibition game at Viejas Arena on Oct. 17, with UCLA winning 67-60.
Lunardi continues to project Utah State as the MW’s automatic qualifier but has dropped them one seedline, to No. 8, and moved them from the South to the West, with a first-round date with No. 9 Miami at Viejas Arena. The winner of that game would face the winner between top-seeded Arizona and No. 16 Long Island.
The Mountain West remains a projected two-bid league for the second straight week, with New Mexico holding fast in the Last Four Out.
The Aztecs were the unanimous preseason pick to win the MW regular-season title in their final season in the league before moving into the Pac-12 along with Utah State, Boise State, Fresno State and Colorado State.
The Aztecs have moved up one spot to No. 41 in the NCAA NET Rankings, which are used by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee as the primary sorting tool for selection and seeding for March Madness.
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-bd678ba4dbad4f453246f539ee56a3b4.jpg "Bernie Wilson")
Bernie Wilson recently retired from The Associated Press after nearly 41 years, including stops in Spokane, Los Angeles and, for the final 33 years, San Diego. He grew up in Coeur d'Alene and graduated from the University of Idaho.