When Syracuse basketball battles with San Diego State this Friday night in a Midwest Region round of 64 duel as part of the 2021 NCAA Tournament, the Orange will face an Aztecs team that is among the hottest groups across all of Division I men’s hoops.
The No. 6 seed San Diego State (23-4) captured both the Mountain West Conference regular-season title as well as that league’s post-season tournament crown. The Aztecs have won 14 in a row and are ranked No. 16 nationally in the most recent Associated Press top-25 poll.
For the No. 11 seed ‘Cuse (16-9), meanwhile, the Orange has prevailed in three of its last four encounters, a successful mini-run by Syracuse basketball just prior to March Madness that enabled the ‘Cuse to hear its name called this past Sunday night for the field of 68.
San Diego State is presently No. 18 in the NET rankings, while Syracuse basketball is No. 40. The Aztecs bring with them a really solid post-season resume, and I personally think that they were seeded too low in the Big Dance.
In the 2020-21 term, San Diego State has defeated UCLA, which is in the field of 68, Arizona State, Saint Mary’s, Colorado State, Nevada twice and Boise State twice, among others.
The Aztecs also conquered another March Madness unit, Utah State, in the final game of the Mountain West Conference Tournament. On the year, San Diego State has fallen to Colorado State, Utah State twice and BYU, another Big Dance participant.
Syracuse basketball will have to take care of the ball with precision versus San Diego State.
Odds-makers are viewing the Aztecs as around a three-point favorite in their affair against the Orange. Some analysts and other national pundits believe that Syracuse basketball is a trendy pick to upset San Diego State, although ESPN’s Basketball Power Index says that the Aztecs possess a 60 percent chance to triumph.
For the bevy of 2020-21, by and large, the ‘Cuse hasn’t had too many issues scoring, but San Diego State presents multiple challenges, as the Aztecs’ rebounding margin is plus-four, their turnover margin is plus-four, and San Diego State scores about 13 more points per game than it allows.
Syracuse basketball players have proven really solid at holding onto the ball and not committing a ton of turnovers throughout this campaign. That will have to continue versus an Aztecs group that collects 8.3 steals and tallies 17.6 points off turnovers per contest.
All in all, San Diego State is tremendously sound on both ends of the floor, and the Orange will have to compete at an ultra-high level to stun the Aztecs.