The Aztecs are OUT.
After losing to Fresno State in the Mountain West Conference Tournament championship game San Diego State’s chances of earning an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament were, at best 50-50. The Selection Committee, whatever their reasons, decided not to give the Aztecs a shot at their seventh straight tournament appearance.
Nobody will argue that the Aztecs are not one of the 68 best teams in the nation but with all the automatic bids from all the Division 1 Conferences they simply did not put together a strong enough resume to earn a spot (a weak Mountain West Conference did not help their cause).
SDSU instead earned a #2 seed in the National Invitation Tournament, which means they get to host at least one game at Viejas Arena. They play the IPFW (Indiana University Purdue University Fort Wayne) Mastodons at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday night on Montezuma Mesa.
The Aztecs have one of the best defensive teams in the nation but have consistently had trouble scoring points. A lingering foot injury to freshman guard Jeremy Hemsley, who finished the season as the team’s second-leading scorer, certainly hindered their progress.
In the MWC Tourney championship loss Hemsley and leading scorer Trey Kell, who was battling the flu, combined for just nine points of 2-18 shooting. Had they been healthy SDSU would have very likely been able to hold off the Bulldogs and earn that automatic berth.
But, as head coach Steve Fisher said, “We have no excuses of sick, tired, hurt foot, that's not relevant.”
The Aztecs now need to overcome the disappointment of missing out on a chance to compete for a National Championship and embrace the chance to play a few more games and bring home another trophy.
Photo Credit: Getty Images