San Diego State brings gaudy credentials into March but still has dark horse feel

March Madness, also known as the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament tips off March 17. Fans will begin to chart their tournament office pools very soon so that means it’s time to do your research.

If you’re looking to hitch your wagon to a feel-good story in college basketball this season, look no further than the party crashers among the elite teams, the San Diego State Aztecs.

The Mountain West leaders did not receive a single vote in any preseason poll to make much of a push, so they are playing with a chip on their shoulder. The Aztecs don’t excel in any one statistical category. All they do is win.

The Aztecs just suffered their lone blemish this year, dropping a 66-63 decision to UNLV but SDSU still has a stellar 26-1 mark. With 20 or more wins 13 out of the past 14 years. San Diego State has been to the NCAA tournament on 12 occasions and captured the Mountain West crown five times with another one on the way this season.

San Diego State has some quality teams among their victims, such as Iowa (19-8) and No. 15 Creighton (21-6) by 31 points along with league foes BYU (23-7) and Utah State (22-7) twice.

The calling card of the Aztecs is their stifling defense, allowing only 58.2 points per game. The key is using their length and quickness to make every shot contested. Nothing in the stats department jumps out at youotherwise but they just mesh as a group. Averaging 75.9 points per game, SDSU makes 75.6% from charity stripe, holds a 4.1 rebounding advantage over opponents and pulls down 9.7 offensive boards down each outing.

The Aztecs made 15 treys against New Mexico (Jan. 29) and 14 from behind the arc against both Utah State (Feb. 1) and Air Force (Feb. 8). When they shoot like that, SDSU can beat anyone.

The group is assembled with a core group of transfers.

Point guard Malachi Flynn came aboard after two seasons at Washington where he was a starter both years. Averaging 15.8 points and 4.3 assists, the junior is shooting 35.7% from long range. The 6-foot-1 Flynn is pacing the team with 16.7 points, 5 assists, 1.9 steals, connecting on 44.5% overall and 83% from foul line. He will get a chance for NBA following college.

His running mate in the backcourt is senior K.J. Feagin, who arrived from Santa Clara where he averaged 14.2 points and 4.0 assists during his three seasons. He poured in 1,182 career points at Santa Clara. Feagin’s strong suit is his defense, but the junior averages 8.8 points and 3.8 assists, shooting 39.8% from deep.

Yanni Wetzell began his college basketball journey at Vanderbilt before transferring to St. Mary’s. The 6-10 native of New Zealand leads the “board patrol” for the Aztecs with 6.5 rebounds each gam while hitting 60.8% of his shots.

Another 6-10 Aztec, Nathan Mensah, is a blocking machine with 39 rejections last season and 22 thus far this year. He’s contributing 6.9 points and 6.8 boards with 61.7% shooting.

Jordan Schakel brings depth and a deep threat, hitting 32 treys this season wile posting 10 points on 46.2% from the floor. The 6-6 sharpshooter also nails 92% of his foul shots and 43.4% from three-point land.

The head coach for San Diego State brings an interesting story. Brian Dutcher has been in the coaching profession 30 years, including 18 as an assistant under Steve Fisher at both Michigan and San Diego State. He became a first-time head coach at age 56. Currenting making $855,424 in base salary per year to rank 75th in the college coaching ranks, Dutcher is in line for a hefty pay hike.

The Aztecs still have to face Colorado State Feb. 25 and Nevada Feb. 29 with the goal of winning out in order to make their case for a No. 1 seed to the NCAA selection committee.

One other team which surprised this season among the non-power conference contenders are the 25-2 Dayton Flyers. They dropped a 90-84 decision to Kansas on Nov. 27th and fell Dec. 21 to Colorado, 78-76. Both losses came in overtime, making Dayton the only Division I team in the country yet to lose in regulation. The Flyers didn’t receive much love in preseason polls.

Former NBA assistant Anthony Grant is in his fourth campaign as head coach of the Flyers. His star player is 6-9 forward Obi Tobbin.

Dayton ranked second nationally last year connecting on 50.4% of their shots with Tobbin’s dominating play inside on the way to 21 wins. It’s gone up a notch in 2019-20. They are connecting on 52.1 % of their shots from the field, tops in the nation, and rank second in college basketball in assists with an impressive 17.9 per game. In other words, this team doesn’t just let it ‘fly’ with wreckless abandon. The Atlantic 10’s Flyers are efficient and deadly.