Making their first ever play-in game appearance the 11-seeded Aztecs are scheduled to start their Road to the Final Four on Tuesday evening at 6:10pm PST. Showing up last and late to the party will be their opponent, fellow 11-seed and NCAA blue-blood, the North Carolina Tarheels.
Let the unofficial Jordan Brand Classic commence.
The two programs are strikingly different, but also pretty similar this season. The two both have reached the National Title game in the last 5 years. SDSU having earned a Sweet-Sixteen finish last season came into this year without 90% of their returning scoring and minutes played. Some of that due to the transfer portal, some due to injuries.
But here we are back with a young, excitable, and very inconsistent team.
But are they?
SDSU was rewarded—rightfully so in my opinion—with an NCAA tournament bid because of their consistency. Year in and year out they put themselves in a position to aim high in their out of conference scheduling. At 7-2 they hit their marks with wins against top seeded Houston, Big East runner-up Creighton, and even Big West champion and metric darling, UC San Diego.
Despite not advancing past the quarterfinals in last week’s Mountain West Championships, SDSU had the resume and consistency under Brian Dutcher to be latched on in Dayton’s opening games.
North Carolina however faced several challenges of their own during the 2024-2025 season like an early-season game against preseason No. 1 Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse.
Despite a 22-13 overall record, the Tar Heels had difficulty securing wins against top-tier opponents, recording a 1-12 record in Quad 1 games—matchups against highly ranked teams.
Their inclusion in the NCAA Tournament as an 11-seed sparked debate all over the interwebs and national pundit scene. Critics pointed to their poor Quad 1 record and concerns due to UNC Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham’s role as the selection committee chair. Although he recused himself from discussions about his program the choice with all the kickback money that comes with it is hard to ignore.
While you may not think this team belongs in the field of 68, the broader challenges within their conference have still made this team battle-tested. Here are a few things to look out for in this play-in game matchup between the Aztecs and the Tarheels.
Styles Make Fights
Coming into this season the Aztecs were doing something new. Gone was an All-American in power forward Jaedon LeDee. It was time to get the ball out of the paint and spread it around to a wing heavy lineup of young athletic players. Even the bigs on the Aztecs were trying to stretch the court and hit 3’s occasionally.
The style of the Aztecs has taken various stop & go improvements and setbacks. The productivity hasn’t truly met their potential or early successes like against Houston back in November. Will that team come to play, please? Coach Dutcher knows he needs those Aztecs to show up.
“Play with swagger—don’t be afraid. I don’t want to lose with a scared team.” says Brian Dutcher during a presser after the team’s mandatory practice session.
His commitment to opening up their style of play to be more fluid and less rigid is obvious in his approach to a winning formula. Trusting his players to make plays has been a hallmark of the Fisher/Dutcher coaching tree.
“That might open it up with some mistakes—some wild shots. They might interpret that as being crazy but you can’t win being scared. So we’ll go out there and I’ll live with some shots they take as long as we’re competing at a high level defending as I know we can and I’ll live with a shot or two that some people from the stands or the sidelines asking ‘what is he doing?’. But I want them confident—You can’t win in March unless you’re confident and I want a confident group out there.”
The Tar Heels have a terrific offense with firepower. If the Aztecs are to win—they must slow the pace and play their grind it out defensive style of game. With a 6th in the nation defensive field goal effectiveness, SDSU should be able to do just that—but to what degree? We’ll find out.
New York vs New York
The Tar Heels despite their poor metrics have been playing the best ball of their season. Winning 8 of their last 10 games of the season has shown they are playing with confidence. The only two losses came against a top ranked Duke team and the last one in the ACC tournament could’ve arguably gone either way.
The power behind this team is none other than RJ Davis. The 6’0″ 180lb senior out of White Plains, NY. Davis has seen it all in his time at Chapel Hill and has been putting up 20 points in several games during their win streak. Though his 3-point percentage is down this year at 34% Davis is able to put up points in a flurry.
On the flip-side for the Aztecs it’s the other New York native Nick Boyd from Garnerville who has the eye of the nation upon him. In his first year as an Aztec the FAU transfer has been a guiding force in the SDSU offense. Averaging just over 13 points per game, Boyd has elevated his play over the past month in aggressive scoring and assists to stabilize the Aztecs while Magoon Gwath has been out.
Though they may not directly be lined up against each other on defense most times, each player here is the man they will need to focus their attention on.
Motivation
The last 48-hours have been an ongoing public lambasting session of the entire North Carolina athletic department. Though many inside the Chapel Hill fanbase may not see Hubert Davis as the coach to take them back to their standard of Final Fours, one thing he does do well is motivate his team.
The whole nation is on the side of the SDSU bench in hopes they will beat the Tar Heels and prove them right about their lack of merits. But the NCAA Tournament is more than just merics, stats and charts. This is not a video game and these players are not robots.
One shining moment is the iconic song of the tournament not because of it’s trendy stylings or Top-40 measurables. It’s because the legendary singer Luther Vandross sings the hell out of it. It’s because the emotion his voice brings out of you when played alongside a sick highlight of some mid major hitting a buzzer beater goes down.
Metrics are simply a guide to get you to this point. But this dance is all about emotion—once you get inside the building it’s time to throw the metrics out the window and dance with everything you’ve got.
Which team will be looking to give that and more Tuesday night in Dayton? The young and unpredictable Aztecs—or the pissed off blue blood Tar Heels.
I don’t know personally—but I’m not going to miss it and most of the country won’t either.
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