SPOKANE, Wash. — With a comprehensively unmerciful performance on Sunday night, San Diego State seized the final spot in the Sweet 16. And the 85-57 romp over Yale wasn’t even the best part. An opportunity for an epic NCAA Tournament redemption now lies ahead. A second chance was afforded by the way the seeds fell in a room in Indianapolis a week ago.
The Aztecs get another shot at UConn.
A rematch of the national championship game from 2023, staged Thursday night in Boston. If San Diego State had any regrets about how that went — and surely there were more than a few — it can vanquish all of them. Because while UConn looks like even better than it did a year ago, the version of the Aztecs that showed up at Spokane Arena on Sunday is terrifying in its own right.
Yale’s fairy tale ending was shredded by the usually elite San Diego State defensive effort complemented by 13 3-pointers and 52.7 percent shooting overall— the sort of offensive efficiency that makes it an unfair fight on any night. Jaedon LeDee led the way with 28 points on 9-for-12 shooting, with Darrion Trammell adding 18 – including a team-high four connections from long distance.
On a very emblematic flipside? First-round hero John Poulakidas followed up a career-high 28 points with a 2-for-9 shooting night for Yale, which shot 37 percent overall. Leading scorer Danny Wolf couldn’t come close to matching LeDee, with the 7-footer scoring just nine points on 2-for-8 shooting himself.
So thorough was the domination, Brian Dutcher started pulling his mainstays before even that moment, with the lead swelled past 30. It’s one thing if the Aztecs draw you into a rock fight. It’s quite another when they have all the rocks.
