NCAA Tournament projections: San Diego State to play Vanderbilt
San Diego State’s path to the NCAA tournament remains a question mark. According to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, a long-time bracketologist, the Aztecs sit second among the last four teams currently in the field.
San Diego State dropped Thursday’s Mountain West Conference quarterfinal game to Boise State, ending a streak of 17 straight wins in the quarterfinal round. The fourth-seeded Aztecs played a strong non-conference schedule that included wins over Houston, Creighton and UC San Diego, all of whom will be playing for conference championships on Saturday night. San Diego State also played tournament teams Oregon and Gonzaga early in the season.
According to Lunardi, San Diego State is projected to be an 11-seed in the Midwest Region. The Aztecs would take on fellow 11-seed Vanderbilt in a first four game in Dayton, Ohio early next week. The winner would then head to Milwaukee to play six-seed Louisville. Wisconsin and Robert Morris would be on the other side of the quadrant.
With New Mexico and Utah State locked into the NCAA tournament according to many bracketologists, the Mountain West has a chance to add three more teams in Boise State, Colorado State and the Aztecs. New Mexico is projected as a nine-seed according to Lunardi. The Lobos would play in the West Region and would head to Raleigh, North Carolina to take on eight-seed Creighton. The winner would likely be subjected to playing top-seed Florida in the following round.
Utah State is the lowest ranked among 10-seeds according to Lunardi. The Aggies current path would put them in the East Region of the bracket. They would take on seven-seed Kansas in Cleveland with Tennessee and Bryant playing on the other side of the quadrant.
Boise State took down the Aztecs on Thursday in the quarterfinal round and backed up the win with a last-minute victory against top-seed New Mexico on Friday. The Broncos could secure their automatic bid with a victory over Colorado State. The automatic bid also would mean Boise State or Colorado State would not have to play in the first four games in Dayton, getting a matchup in the traditional bracket. The Broncos would be a 12-seed taking on Xavier in Dayton. The winner would slot into the West Region, taking on five-seed BYU in Seattle. Lunardi has acknowledged that the loser of Saturday’s Mountain West championship game will become his first team out following the game.
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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.