San Diego State Recap: Shock and Awed by Orange, 78-62.
It’s official: The Orange are majority owners of the Aztecs
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Talk about upset.
https://twitter.com/CBBonFOX/status/1373118523606659072
The Aztecs earned a 6-seed, but their draw against Jim Boheim as an 11-seed was a heavy-handed order. The 2-3 zone can never be replicated in team practice and facing it in real life will be intimidating. Friday night’s 78-62 smackdown was pure evidence of that.
In 2012, when Steve Fisher put together his non-conference schedule choosing to open up against the Syracuse Orange outdoors, atop the flight deck of the USS Midway, the best outcome would have been a top-tier neutral-site win. But the worst outcome that San Diego State would have the school’s worst offensive showing manifested itself.
That sunny, but breezy November day the Aztecs shot 27% from the field and 1-18 from the arc.
In the 2021 March Madness version of this rematch, the Aztecs’ offense had the great Jim Nantz reminiscing.
https://twitter.com/DarnayTripp/status/1373095389730009089
Early on, the Aztecs looked like they were executing their game plan of 3-pointers to break their zone. The Aztecs held ‘Cuse at 19 for a solid 3-minutes mid-way through the first half, but the Aztecs’ offense started to crack. Three-pointers were bricking early in the shot clock giving the Orange to heat up. The Aztecs couldn’t buy a bucket in the paint. Their best 3-point guards Terrell Gomez and Jordan Schakel were a combined 6-20 on a night where they needed to hit at least 40% to be competitive.
After going into the locker room down 14 without scoring to close out the half. The Aztecs were simply flustered and overwhelmed to overcome the deficit. Bricking their shots for almost 9 minutes of the half was insurmountable whilst trying to keep Buddy Boheim in check.
https://twitter.com/CBSSports/status/1373115308542619658
The younger Boheim was having a career night, dropping 30 points on 11-15 from the field. It was his night, this contested three from the March Madness logo underlined his performance. This was a once-in-a-generation game for Boheim as he outscored his father’s NCAA tournament record of 29 back in the ’70s.
The Aztecs had the game plan, but the ‘Cuse showed the committee that they will always be a tough out in March.
Cheers to another season, maybe in 2022 we’ll see another Mountain West team get out of the round of 64 with a W.
https://twitter.com/MWCwire/status/1373131056849809412