Back UConn to Coast to Championship

San Diego State vs. UConn, 9:20 ET

This is what it all comes down to, one game that decides the National Champion for college basketball. It was a very interesting tournament and one of those years where there were a ton of upsets and a lot of randomness. Before the games started I mentioned this year is one where everyone had a chance to win the championship. Since the tournament started, only one team has looked worthy: UConn. Will that be the case tonight?

San Diego State just keeps making it work with their team. How did they get to this spot through the tournament? They beat Charleston in a game that they had to really grind out. Then they destroyed Furman, holding them to just 52 points. This was probably the most complete game that the Aztecs put together during the tournament. Against Alabama they were able to go into halftime with a nice lead and then all of a sudden, they were down in the game. After being down six and looking like the Crimson Tide were going to pull away, San Diego State finally put the game on ice. There was a controversial game against Creighton that they won almost at the buzzer. I expected them to make light work of FAU, but they see-sawed back and forth most of the game before finally getting a stop and dropping in a bucket at the buzzer. They've won their past two games by 1 point each. I would think that a close game against UConn would benefit them, but I'm not sure that anyone can stop UConn right now.

UConn hasn't had to break a sweat in the tournament. Literally none of the teams have given them a game or made them concerned about anything at all. I mentioned their margin of victory when I gave out a (losing) pick for the Miami game, but they have now won games by an average of 20.6 points. They haven't won a game by fewer than 13 points. I can't believe that it has been that much of a cakewalk for them. I'd argue that San Diego State had to play a tougher stretch, but Gonzaga and Miami are talented teams and you can't really control who you play. The most recent game against Miami saw them never trail and they were only tied once after 0-0 in the game. It isn't just their defense that was successful, their offense was 49% from the field. They did all this and also lost the turnover battle. They've been playing great basketball for the entire month, but pretty much this entire year if you really look into it.

San Diego State does have a chance to win this game. The team is very good at switching and has shown they are versatile enough to score in a variety of ways. They will need to limit UConn to one shot on offense, but it isn't like there is no possibility for them to win. UConn has been playing way too good to go against at this point. San Diego State has been on the verge of losing for a few games but keep pulling it out. I'm going to take UConn at -7.5 in this game. The Aztecs are coming off yet another exhausting and emotional win. UConn simply needs to just keep doing what they have been doing.

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