Ex-Cal Player Matt Bradley Leads San Diego State Into March Madness

Former Bears star was an all-Mountain West selection and would face Kansas if Aztecs win their opener in NCAA tournament

A chance to play in the NCAA tournament was a major reason Matt Bradley transferred from Cal to San Diego State after last season. The move paid off as the Aztecs were chosen as an at-large team in the 68-team NCAA tournament on Sunday.

Here are the first two paragraphs of Bryce Miller's column about Bradley in the San Diego Union-Tribune after the NCAA selections were announced:

This is why Matt Bradley came to San Diego State. This is why, after entering the transfer portal at Cal, he muted Gonzaga, Kentucky, Kansas, USC and Oregon when his phone buzzed.

This is why it was impossible to pry the smile off his face with a crowbar Sunday when San Diego State popped up during the NCAA Tournament selection show on CBS.

“It’s an overwhelming experience, just to hear your team be called and have a chance to compete against all the great teams in college basketball,” Bradley said, according to the Union-Tribune. “I could never put myself in that situation. I’ve always been a fan of March Madness, but I’ve never participated in it. So, I could never put myself in the shoes of those players.”

San Diego State, which lost in the Mountain West tournament finals to Boise State 53-52 on Saturday, earned a No. 8 seed in the Midwest Regional and will face No. 9 seed Creighton of the Big East in the Aztecs' first-round game on Thursday in Fort Worth, Texas. 

If the Aztecs (23-8) win that game they will probably face the No. 1 seed Kansas in the second round on Saturday. That would certainly give Bradley some national exposure.

Bradley was named to the Mountain West's five-player all-conference first team and led the Aztecs in scoring at 17.0 points per game.

What has Bradley meant to the Aztecs' basketball program?

“Everything,” Dutcher said. “He had a magical season for us. We wouldn’t be in the tournament without him. Obviously now, he has to be great for us to win in the tournament.

“He doesn’t want to just go, he wants to have his shining moment. And if he does, we’ll have a chance to win games.”

Three weeks ago most sites projected the Aztecs to be left out of the NCAA tournament. But San Diego State finished the season strong, winning 11 of 12 games before the loss to Boise State in the conference tournament title game.  That run earned the Aztecs a third-place finish in the regular-season standings and included wins over NCAA tournament teams  Colorado State and Wyoming. Bradley scored 30, 26 and 24 points in the Aztecs' final three regular-season games, but averaged just 9.7 points in the three conference tournament games.

Bradley had 17 points in Saturday's loss in the finals and scored the bucket that got the Aztecs within one point in the closing moments.  However, he missed two shots in the final minute that would have given the Aztecs the lead.

In Creighton, the Aztecs will face a 22-11 team that finished fourth in the Big East regular season, but beat Providence in the Big East tournament before losing to Villanova in the conference tournament finals. The Bluejays had a win over Villanova in the regular season. 

If San Diego State wins that game, it would no doubt face Kansas, the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region. The Jayhawks are 28-6, tied Baylor for the Big 12 regular-season title with a 14-4 conference record and won the Big 12 tournament.

Kansas' star is Ochai Agbaji, a  national player-of-the-year candidate who plays the same position as Bradley (shooting guard), is about the same height (Agbaji is listed at 6-foot-5, Bradley at 6-foot-4) and about the same weight (215 pounds for Agbali, 220 for Bradley). They might be matched up against each other if Kansas and San Diego State meet. 

Usually a good three-point shooting team, Creighton made just 30.9% of their long-range attempts this season.

One other former Cal player who will be in the NCAA tournament is Arkansas center Connor Vanover, although it's unclear whether he will get any playing time in Razorbacs' first-round game against Vermont on Thursday in Buffalo, N.Y. Vanover's playing time decreased over the course of the season, and did not play at all in Arkansas' final 15 games.

Another former Bears player, Justice Sueing, is a member of the Ohio State team that is seeded No. 7 and faces Loyola-Chicago in the first round. However, Sueing suffered an abdominal injury in the second game of the season, has not played since and is not expected to play in the postseason.

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Cover photo of Matt Bradley is by Orlando Ramirez, USA TODAY Sports

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Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

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