San Diego State firmly on bubble in latest NCAA Tournament Bracketology

SDSU returns to action Saturday night at home against Nevada

San Diego State Aztecs forward Pharaoh Compton (5). | Photo courtesy of San Diego State University Athletics

The San Diego State Aztecs are still on the bubble in NCAA Tournament projections, but at least it’s the right side of the bubble in the latest ESPN Bracketology projections.

Bracket expert Joe Lunardi kept the Aztecs (17-6, 11-2 Mountain West) in the Last Four In in his Friday update.

Lunardi still has the Aztecs as the penultimate team into the tournament, at No. 67 in the Field of 68, but has tweaked their assignment a bit. He has them slotted for a First Four date with Missouri, with the winner getting the No. 11 seed in the West Region and a first-round matchup with No. 6 Clemson in Tampa. 

Lunardi had dropped the Aztecs out of the bracket altogether a week earlier, before reviving their chances on Tuesday when he brought them back in via the Last Four In.

SDSU had a midweek bye and hasn’t played since an 88-54 win at Air Force on Saturday night. 

SDSU, which now trails Utah State by half a game because of the bye, returns to action Saturday night at home against Nevada, seeking a season series victory. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and the game will air on CBS Sports Network. SDSU won 73-68 at Reno on Jan. 6. 

Lunardi continues to project Utah State as the MW’s automatic qualifier. He still has the Aggies as a No. 7 seed but has moved them into the South Region with a projected first-round date with No. 10 Miami in Oklahoma City. 

The Mountain West is down to a projected two-bid league after Lunardi dropped New Mexico from the Last Four In to the Last Four Out. New Mexico won 70-64 at Grand Canyon on Wednesday night, but had lost its previous two games, including by 20 points at Utah State. 

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 remain at No. 42 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.

A rough performance in the non-conference portion of the schedule hurt the Aztecs’ resume for an at-large bid, meaning their best bet for getting into March Madness for the sixth straight season is to claim the MW’s automatic bid by winning the conference tournament.