The No. 5 San Diego State Aztecs will take on the No. 12 UAB Blazers in the First Round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. This will be an East Region matchup and will take place on Friday from Spokane, WA.
Below we’ll preview both teams, including analysis and key stats while also providing our prediction.
San Diego State Aztecs
NET: 21
KenPom Overall: 21
KenPom O: 61
KenPom D: 9
Record: 24-10
Strength of Schedule: 24
Conference: Mountain West
Conference Record: 11-7
Quad 1 Record: 4-9
San Diego State came up short in the Mountain West conference tournament and will now need an at-large bid to go dancing. The Aztecs made it to the National Championship game last year, but lost to UConn. Forward Jaedon LeDee is the player to watch for San Diego State. He averages 21.1 points, 8.4 boards, 1.4 assists and 1.2 steals per game.
UAB Blazers
NET: 105
KenPom Overall: 106
KenPom O: 62
KenPom D: 208
Record: 23-11
Strength of Schedule: 98
Conference: American
Conference Record: 12-6
Quad 1 Record: 0-4
The UAB Blazers won the American Athletic Conference Tournament and are going dancing. It seemed at times that the postseason was going to be out of their reach with a 20-11 overall record, going 12-6 in conference play, but they got hot at the right time. Forward Yaxel Lendeborg averaged a double-double this season with 13.8 points and 10.5 rebounds. Guards Eric Gaines, Efrem Johnson and Alejandro Vasqueze each averaged double-digits in scoring this season, giving hope to the Blazers as they head into the NCAA tournament.
2024 March Madness: San Diego State vs. UAB odds
Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook
Spread: SDSU -7.5, UAB +7.5
Over/Under: 134.5
Moneyline: SDSU -310, UAB +250
Prediction: San Diego State
We can expect a very physical, defensive oriented matchup as the Aztecs will go up against a Blazers team led by AAC Defensive Player of the Year Yaxel Lendenborg. Ultimately, I think the experience of San Diego State will prevail here and I’ll pick them to advance to the Round of 32.