San Diego State basketball: 5 facts you need to know about the Aztecs

San Diego State basketball is headed to its first Final Four, where they’ll meet Florida Atlantic. Here are five things you must know about SDSU before then.

Under the direction of sixth-year head coach Brian Dutcher, San Diego State basketball will head to Houston this weekend to take part in their first Final Four in program history. The Aztecs, a No. 5 seed in this year’s tournament, should provide the defensive punch to a national semifinal filled with offensive firepower.

San Diego State goes nine deep in its rotation, allowing the Aztecs stay fresh and execute Dutcher’s trademark press-for-94-feet defense. As guard Adam Seiko put it, “if you can’t play defense, you’re not going to play.”

That defense came up large in their upset win over No. 1 seed Alabama, and again against Creighton in the Elite Eight. The Aztecs forced the Tide into a woeful shooting night (3 for 27) and held the Bluejays to a season-low 23 second-half points to punch their ticket to Houston. Now, San Diego State will face upstart Florida Atlantic for the right to play for a National Championship.

Here are five things to know about SDSU ahead of the Final Four Saturday.

San Diego State basketball: 5 facts to know for Aztecs in the Final Four

Beware the Flying Dutcher-Man

Patience is a virtue, as they say. There may be no man more patient roaming the sidelines of college basketball than Brian Dutcher.

Dutcher bided his time, spending 18 years as an assistant on staff at SDSU prior to earning the head coaching job in 2017. The Michigan native had spent the better part of 3 decades in the coaching ranks, working his way up from graduate assistant at Illinois, to assistant at South Dakota State and associate head coach at Michigan.

At both Michigan and San Diego State, Dutcher coached under living legend Steve Fisher, who Dutcher credits with helping lay the foundation for his current team’s success.

“Coach, no one believed in us all those years ago,” Dutcher said in his post-game interview with CBS on Sunday. “Here we are, Final Four. Thanks for starting a great foundation and letting me take over.”

Dutcher’s patience has been tested in other ways.

In 2020, Dutcher had, arguably, his most-talented team, one that went 30-2 overall, lost only one game in conference play, notched neutral site wins over Creighton, Iowa and Utah, and finished the season No. 6 in the final AP Poll.

Then came the COVID-19 pandemic, which wiped out the NCAA Tournament.

“We were mentally gearing up for a Selection Sunday,” Dutcher said in 2020. “Even a small moment like that, you sit there and watch the kids celebrate and see their faces when their name comes up on the board. And now to realize your kids don’t even get that…your heart breaks.”

With a handful of returnees from that team, Dutcher and the Aztecs have more than made up for that lost time.

Bucking the trend

This upcoming Sunday, April 2, marks the 36th anniversary of the NCAA adopting the 3-point line. In each of the last three seasons, a new record for 3-point rate has been set and last season, college teams took more three-pointers than ever before. The long ball has become such an integral part of almost every team’s offensive identity.

Almost.

San Diego State doesn’t blow you away with its offense. The Aztecs only have one player who averages more than 10 points this year. Against Creighton, they shot just 37% from the field. Their three-point attack is even less to write home about. SDSU shot 1-for-18 from behind the arc in the second half of the Elite Eight.

Of the teams in the Final Four, the Aztecs rank the lowest in three-point attempts per game nationally, 265th. They also rank the worst out of the remaining quartet in offensive efficiency. Yet, here they sit a game away from next week’s National Championship game. And they have their defense to thank.

SDSU relentlessly defends for 94 feet, ranking second among all tournament teams in scoring defense. What allows them to defend this doggedly for 40 minutes is their depth. Only Florida Atlantic, their upcoming opponent, plays as many players who average at least 15 minutes per game.

Making Mountain West history

On January 4, 1999, the Mountain West Conference officially began operations in Colorado Springs.

Eight schools served as the charter members of the league, including San Diego State University. 24 years later, the Aztecs have provided the league with perhaps its greatest athletics moment – reaching the Final Four, becoming the first Mountain West team to do so.

The Mountain West has a proud athletics history, like Urban Meyer’s Utah Utes beating Alabama in the Sugar Bowl in 2009 or Boise State winning the 2014 Fiesta Bowl. But a team on the verge of winning a National Championship easily surpasses them all.

The league does have two teams who have won national championships, although those titles were won prior to the creation of the league. Wyoming claimed the 1943 National Championship, while UNLV won it all in 1990.

San Diego State owns the fifth-most NCAA men’s tournament appearances in Mountain West history with 14. The Aztecs do own the conference’s record for tournament titles, winning their seventh earlier this season, extending their own record. The next closest team is New Mexico with four.

Unrelated, but on the topic of the MWC’s history: many of the conference’s charter members were part of the Western Athletic Conference prior to the creation of the Mountain West.

BYU and Utah had initially proposed splitting the WAC into divisions; however, said proposal was unsuccessful, leading to the creation of the Mountain West. But, here’s the fun fact – the university presidents of the founding members all met at the Denver International Airport, hashed out a plan and voila, a new conference was born.

Rich Flex

Deep NCAA Tournament runs are great for all involved. The players, the coaches, the school, the fans.

It’s also pretty good for the institution’s name brand, too.

Earlier this week, San Diego State marketing professor Dan Bruton told NBC San Diego that, “it absolutely translates to real dollars,” referring to the exposure the school has received thanks to their Final Four run.

According to NBC San Diego, the rough estimate is that this Final Four run for the Aztecs could be worth as much as $10 million over the next six years, based on past tournament figures. However, SDSU won’t see all of that due to the Mountain West’s revenue sharing agreement.

A study conducted by George Mason University’s marketing and research department showed that the 2006 Final Four run netted $667 million in free marketing for the university and a 40% uptick of out-of-state applicants.

A similar study conducted by Villanova University in 2017 showed their title win in 2016 provided similar applicant increases.

“We’re the front door, we’re the public version the university,” Dutcher told the media this week. “People see athletics and see what we do, then have a greater appreciation.”

What’s in a nickname? Explaining the Aztecs

History class is in session, folks.

The Aztecs were an Indigenous civilization in Mexico that were founded in the early 13th century, lasting all the way through the 16th century. According to historians, the Aztec people migrated from their homeland called Aztlan to what became modern-day Mexico.

The Mexica — what the Aztecs referred to themselves as — founded Tenochtitlan. That occurred in the infancy of Aztec society. What occurred in the later history of the Aztec empire was the rise of Moctezuma II, who expanded the empire to its largest size.

I tell you all of this because San Diego State’s athletics mascot and traditions have deep ties to all of it.

In 1925, San Diego State students officially voted to adopt the Aztec as their official mascot after years of unofficial monikers. In the 2000s though, students expressed concerns about cultural insensitivity regarding logos and imagery.

After voting to keep the name, the school coordinated with the Aztec Warrior Foundation to bring more awareness to the history of the culture and people.

SDSU’s fight song also contains references to the aforementioned ruler of the Aztecs. According to the official SDSU Alumni website, their fight song and alma mater both make five references to the former rule. The school’s fight song was first performed at an SDSU football game in 1936.

Just an interesting piece of history, if you ask me.

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