LOUISVILLE — Underdog San Diego State kicked No. 1 overall seed Alabama out of the NCAA Tournament to advance to the Elite Eight on Friday night in Louisville.
A 71-64 win sends the fifth-seeded Aztecs into the South Region final on Sunday against sixth-seeded Creighton, which downed 15th-seeded Princeton 86-75 in the Kentucky nightcap.
“San Diego State is a very good team,” Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats said. “When you get to the Sweet 16, you know all the teams are good at this point. You know, they’re tough, physical, veteran group. It’s a huge accomplishment to get to the Sweet 16.”
Alabama All-American Brandon Miller was almost entirely erased in the second half, shooting 1 of 10 and finishing with nine points and six turnovers.
“I think we came in this game prepared as much as we can possibly,” Miller said. “I think our shot-making could have been better. Our shot choices could have been better.”
San Diego State’s Darrion Trammell had a game-high 21 points, making nine of his 16 attempts from the field and 3 of 5 from 3-point range.
San Diego State’s relentless, stranglehold defense and balanced offensive attack combined to quiet the Crimson Tide, who made 3 of 27 3-point attempts and just 14 of 28 layups, a testament to the Aztecs’ static-cling.
Alabama (31-6), now 1-9 all time in the Sweet 16, was led by Mark Sears’ 16 points and 10 rebounds. Miller (3 of 19), Sears (4 of 11), and Jahvon Quinerly (4 of 13) couldn’t catch fire and the Crimson Tide shot 32.4 percent for the game.
Matt Bradley hit two free throws with 45 seconds left that allowed San Diego State (30-6) to exhale slightly after consecutive empty possessions. Bradley’s pair put the Aztecs up by four, and San Diego State got the ball back after a review upheld the out-of-bounds call on the floor with 34.5 ticks remaining.
San Diego State’s Micah Parrish made 3 of 4 free throws in the closing seconds to seal the win.
Alabama gathered a missed free throw and Sears rebounded a missed 3-pointer all alone for a layup and a 66-64 score, pushing closer after the previous possession was decided on a held ball out of a trap in front of the Alabama bench gave possession to the Crimson Tide and Sears converted a three-point play to make it 66-62 San Diego State with 1:08 left.
San Diego State challenged every touch from Miller, who picked up two fouls in the first five minutes of the game and never had his rhythm.
Bradley drained a jumper from 15 feet for a 66-57 lead with 2:12 left in the game. Bradley scored in the lane with 3:09 left to stake the Aztecs to what was their biggest lead of the game — nine points — but a lob to Alabama 7-footer Charles Bediako, the Crimson Tide’s first fast-break points of the game, made it 64-57 when San Diego State took a timeout 50 seconds later.
San Diego State owned the pace and won the clash of styles in the first half, choking Alabama’s perimeter shooting and holding Miller to four points on 2-of-9 shooting. The Crimson Tide made 1 of 11 from 3-point range in the first half and trailed 28-23 at the break.
Alabama heated up early in the second half and led 48-39 with 11:40 to play before San Diego recovered to grab the first-ever Elite Eight berth for a Mountain West Conference team.
“When they came out energized the second half, they built a lead,” Aztecs coach Brian Dutcher said. “We took a timeout I think right by the 12-minute mark, and then Darrion came out of the timeout and hit a three and a two, and he changed the momentum.”
–Jeff Reynolds, Field Level Media
