GREELEY — Northern Colorado has overcome its NCAA hurdle in only its fifth official year in Division I. Its first NCAA Tournament opponent is trying to overcome its NCAA hurdle in its 41st.
San Diego State is 0-6 in the NCAA Tournament. It’s 0-3 under current coach Steve Fisher, in his 12th year in San Diego. Here’s the catch: The Aztecs, who went Division I in 1970-71, have always been a double-digit seed.
This time, they’re No. 2 and 32-2. And while the spunky Bears (21-10) are glad to be there, when they meet Thursday in Tucson, San Diego State will be on a mission.
“Our goal and our fans’ goal is to win a game,” Fisher said Saturday after his Aztecs destroyed Brigham Young 72-54 to win the Mountain West Tournament title. “We’ve never done that.”
As all Mountain West fans in Colorado know, the Aztecs play great defense, rebound and have terrific leadership. They led the league in shooting defense (.396), 3-point shooting defense (.309) and rebound margin (plus-6.7).
“We’re a good defensive team,” Fisher said. “This is the best defensive team I’ve had at San Diego State. You can win when you’re as athletic as we are and guard as hard as we do.”
This is arguably the most seasoned team in the tournament, with all five starters back from last year’s 25-9 team. They’ve developed an unselfish group with three players scoring in double figures: Kawhi Leonard (15.4 points per game), Malcolm Thomas (11.5) and point guard D.J. Gay (11.2).
Leonard (10.7 rebounds per game) and Thomas (8.2) were top two in the league in rebounding.
As the West Regional is set up, San Diego State could have more than one win. Beating UNC would send the Aztecs against seventh-seeded Temple (25-7) or No. 10 Penn State (19-14). The regional final is in Anaheim, Calif.
“It turned out to be good for us,” Fisher said. “We stayed out West, we’re close to home. If we have good fortune the next progression will be Anaheim. That’s right up the road.
“Now all we have to do is win, and we haven’t been able to do that before.”
