Creighton And San Diego State Brothers: (KUSI) – San Diego State faces ninth-seeded Creighton in a Midwest Region first-round game Thursday in Fort Worth, Texas. « Our aim is to participate in the Final Four and win a national championship, so we can’t have that goal and not win games in the tournament, » said Brian Dutcher, who is in his fifth season as San Diego State’s head coach after 18 seasons as an assistant or associate head coach.
“I want this year’s team to play with amazing confidence, swagger, and not fear. You can’t be afraid now. You have to go out there, embrace it, play as you belong, play confidently, and play with a swagger.” San Diego State is a 2-to-2 1/2-point favourite. FiveThirtyEight.com, owned by ABC News, gives the Aztecs a 55% chance of victory. San Diego State (23-8) is the 31st seed out of 68 teams. The Bluejays (22-11) are ranked 33rd. The ninth seeds have a 73-71 record against the eighth seeds since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
The Aztecs have won six of their previous seven games. Both losses were to Mountain West Conference champion Boise State, including a 53-52 loss in Saturday’s conference tournament final. The Aztecs have lost three games by one point. The game features two teams that fell in their respective conference finals. In the Big East Conference championship, Creighton fell to Villanova 54-48. San Diego State will be making its third NCAA tournament appearance in five seasons under Dutcher, ninth in the last 13 years, 13th since becoming a Division I programme in the fall of 1969, and 16th all-time.
Both clubs’ top scorers are seniors
Coaches and media representatives voted San Diego State guard Matt Bradley as the MWC’s Newcomer of the Year. Bradley, a 6-foot-4-inch junior, began his collegiate career at California. Forward Ryan Hawkins led the Bluejays with 13.9 points per game after winning three Division II national championships in five seasons. Creighton guard Alex O’Connell said Bradley “creates his shots off the dribble and off the jab.” To hold him and minimise his points will take a team effort. In Dutcher’s words, Hawkins was “perfect for any programme.”
“He can score,” Dutcher added. “He can rotate and get around the defence in the low post. He has the quickest release of the year. He catches it and flies.” 7-1 Creighton sophomore centre Coaches voted Ryan Kalkbrenner the Big East Defensive Player of the Year. Kalkbrenner has the ninth-most blocked shots in Division I. Adam Seiko, a senior for the Aztecs, is Arthur Kaluma’s brother. Both started for Uganda in the AfroBasket event in Rwanda last summer. Seiko has 5.3 points in 28 games, 7 stars. With 9.9 points per game in 29 games, Kaluma is Creighton’s fifth-best scorer.
“He’s the reason I play basketball today,” Kaluma added. “I used to go to his games and see his approach to the game and professionalism,” Kaluma remarked. “It inspired me and got me into the sport.” Kaluma claims he “busted” his brother’s nose the last time they played one-on-one. “We had a great game,” Kaluma stated. A little later, my elbow impacted him directly on the nose, causing him to leak. Freshmen have scored almost 38% of Creighton’s points, including guard Ryan Nembhard, who has averaged 11.3 points in 27 games, all starts.
Creighton And San Diego State Brothers
In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 tournament was cancelled. San Diego State was 30-2. The Aztecs are 3-4 against Creighton, with their most recent win coming on Nov. 28, 2019, in a Las Vegas Invitational semifinal. Seiko, Trey Pulliam, Aguek Arop, Nathan Mensah, and Keshad Johnson were all in that game. The game will be televised by truTV at 4:27 p.m. In a second-round matchup Saturday, the winner of San Diego State-Creighton will meet the winner of Kansas-Texas Southern on Thursday.
In appearance, Aztecs and Creightons are very similar
FORT WORTH — They are from different sections of the country, one near an ocean, the other almost a thousand miles distant. Neither wears red or black. One features an Aztec mascot, the other a bird. One is a Mountain West team, the other a Big East.
Both are public universities.
Despite their distinctions, San Diego State and Creighton are virtually the same basketball squad. You’ve seen both. “I don’t believe Xs and Os are very similar,” Creighton forward Ryan Hawkins said Wednesday, a day before their NCAA Tournament matchup in Fort Worth (4:27 p.m. PDT, truTV). “Not many parallels in our defensive approach. But I think the teams’ identities and DNA are quite similar in that we’ll slow down, grind it out defensively, and play tougher than you.”
Last year’s Sweet 16 team lost five of their top scorers, 63 per cent of their rebounds, and 76 per cent of their assists. A pro turned up. Three chose to extend their COVID waivers. One moved to Texas. Returners averaged six points or 15 minutes. “We’re happy to be here,” McDermott said on the elevated dais used by the NCAA for press briefings. “This wasn’t in the cards in mid-November, mid-December, or even mid-January. But this team has only improved. They’ve maintained an incredible bond that I believe is the main reason I’m here today.
“They’ve figured out how to win.”
Dutcher has repeated this mantra about a team that lost its three leading scorers, 50% of its points, rebounds, and assists, then had injuries and illnesses sideline his two point guards for extended periods. It was also on the wrong side of the NCAA Tournament bubble mid-season. Defence wins for both teams. The Huskies have the Big East defensive player of the year in 7-foot-1 Ryan Kalkbrenner. Nathan Mensah, the Mountain West defensive player of the year, leads SDSU in Kenpom.
And no offence. On offence, Creighton ranks 126th. UCSD is 161
Having lost their top five scorers from last season, coach Greg McDermott discussed rebuilding “through the draught” (freshmen) (the transfer portal). He chose the former, focusing on a five-man recruiting class ranked No. Arthur Kaluma, younger brother of SDSU senior Adam Seiko, and No. 46 in school history. He was joined by 6-7 Ryan Hawkins, who averaged 22.2 points and won three national titles at Div. This is an amazing stage,” said McDermott, whose team defeated regular-season winner Providence in the Big East semifinals in New York. “But so is a semifinal or final at MSG.
We just had something happen a week ago, and they handled it perfectly.“I haven’t had to worry. This group is solid. I think they get who we are and what we need to succeed.” The odds say it will be a close game, with no side leading by more than two baskets, and it will come down to the final possession. “And both teams will hope to be in the lead and on defence,” Dutcher joked.
Aztecs update: Coach Brian Dutcher said that starting forward Keshad Johnson experienced an ankle issue at the Mountain West Tournament, limiting his effectiveness. Johnson scored three, three and zero points in the three games and played only 14 minutes in the final. He didn’t practise Monday or Tuesday, but Dutcher said he expects him to be ready for Creighton.
