San Diego State, the last remaining undefeated basketball team for the 2019-2020 season. West Coast basketball is being represented decently across the PAC12, WCC, and MWC through the successes of Oregon, Gonzaga, and San Diego State. Of course, Gonzaga is obviously the best team of these three, but they’re not the focus of the praise this time.
The San Diego State Aztecs sit atop the Mountain West Conference rankings, and likely will not move. While UNLV and Utah State might give SDSU a challenge in February, if I were a betting person, I’d bet on SDSU to win those matchups. SDSU will enter both matchups with over 20 wins this season, so while hard work gets the job done, confidence gained throughout the season is not easily shaken.
An argument could be made that SDSU hasn’t faced any challenging opponents this season, and that argument would be correct if it’s in regards to their conference schedule. HOWEVER, they did take down a ranked Iowa team, so that’s something (as Big10 basketball programs are very good except Ohio State this year). Obviously people see something in SDSU as they keep ranking SDSU 4th, making the argument of a weak conference schedule unimportant.
Another argument could be that SDSU shouldn’t be ranked all that high, and while that argument is probably correct, enough voters disagree, so that argument is overruled. Though, their opinion is probably somewhat influenced by a young man who played for SDSU 2009-2011. You might have heard of Kawhi Leonard, he’s been part of two NBA Championship winning teams (the San Antonio Spurs and the Toronto Raptors) and currently plays for the Los Angeles Clippers. Although he hasn’t played with SDSU recently, his name is in the mouths of many a basketball fan which then leads to discussing where he played in college which then contributes to votes! It’s a bit of a stretch, but you can’t talk about San Diego State without mentioning Kawhi.
What does SDSU’s success during the season mean for their run in the NCAA tournament? Absolutely nothing. Nothing is guaranteed in the tournament, friends. Bet wisely.
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