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Looking At The San Diego State Schedule We Predict What Kind Of Season The Aztecs May Have
Can San Diego State Make It Two Straight NCAA Tournaments?
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San Diego State looks to play in March
This last season was a stressful one for San Diego State Aztecs fans as the men’s basketball team started off poorly, before finishing on a great run to the NCAA Tournament.
In Coach Brian Dutcher’s first year the team was coming off two seasons in which they missed the NCAA Tournament and it seemed like a transition period was going to be difficult. The year began with high hopes, but quickly expectation dwindled with a string of bad losses. As the team was middling during conference play the Aztecs put together a run of nine straight wins, including three in the Mountain West tournament to earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Tourney.
It seems that Coach Dutcher has righted the ship, at least temporarily, and the Aztecs are heading in the right direction. A lot of the team’s success had to do with a greater emphasis on defense as the year wore on. Going into this season the team will look to build on last year’s success and make a run at Nevada at the top of the standings.
The Aztecs are losing two starters from last year’s team. Malik Pope, and Trey Kell both started down the stretch last season and exhausted their eligibility. Now the Aztecs come back with three returning starters in Matt Mitchell, Jalen McDaniels, and Devin Watson.
Those players are expected to take on a bigger role in this year’s offense, however, the worry is who will replace the guys that are gone. Only three bench players return from last year’s team and the rest of the roster consists of freshmen. Finding a lineup that works will be key, especially early on.
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