NCAA mens basketball National Championship Preview

Story posted April 3, 2023 in CommRadio, Sports by Rob Cardini

And then there were two. The NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship is set as the No. 5 seed San Diego State University Aztecs will face the No. 4 seed UConn Huskies Monday, April 3, at 9:15 p.m.

Both teams have had an impressive run to get to the championship game.

SDSU knocked off the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed Alabama Crimson Tide in the Sweet 16 while UConn has dominated every game beating their opponents by an average of 20.6 points per game in the tournament.

Looking at the Dan Hurley-led Huskies, it seems to come down to simple stats. UConn is 16-0 this year against non-conference opponents with an average margin of victory of 24.7 ppg. 

The other main part of UConn’s formula for success is its star big man Adama Sanogo.

The junior forward averages 17 points and 7 rebounds, and after their win against Miami, UConn improved to 20-0 in Sanogo's career when he scores 20 plus points.  
   
UConn is also one of the deepest teams in the country with many players who can shoot the ball lights-out. This is what has helped them take the number one spot in the KenPom basketball rankings.

Now over to the Aztecs who are coached by Brian Dutcher. One of the main storylines of this Aztec team is that they force opponents to play their style of basketball.

SDSU is a very athletic team that plays outstanding defense and controls the pace of the game. The Aztecs’ defense was ranked number four in the entire country by KenPom this year.

The Aztecs’ top scorer is Senior guard Matt Bradley who averaged just under 13 points per game this year with the team.

Another name to keep an eye out for though is Lamont Butler who is putting together a nice tournament and hit the game-winning buzzer-beater shot to send SDSU to the final.

Will SDSU be the team that finally slows UConn down and take home its first-ever title or will UConn continue to dominate and win its fifth championship? Only time will tell. 

Rob Cardini is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email rvc5706@psu.edu.