After nearly a year, the San Diego State Aztecs are going to see the team that denied them of a national title in 2023, as Brian Dutcher and his squad are all set to face top overall seed UConn Huskies on Thursday in Boston.
The Aztecs and the Huskies both defeated their respective opponents on Sunday during the second round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The San Diego State Aztecs beat the Yale Bulldogs, 85-57, while the Huskies crushed the Northwestern Wildcats, 75-58.
Dutcher knows how big of a challenge UConn is, but he and his boys are not intimated of the Huskies.
“We’ll, it’s the UConn Invitational so we’re going to Boston. See if we can disrupt the party a little bit,” Dutcher said following the win over the Bulldogs (h/t basketball insider Adam Zagoria).
The San Diego State Aztecs Are Looking To Avenge Their 2023 Loss To The Huskies
Apart from the goal of reaching the Elite Eight round for the second year in a row, the Aztecs are also certainly on a mission to score a measure of revenge against the Huskies. As mentioned, San Diego lost to UConn in last year’s national championship game.
Despite getting absolutely dominated by the Huskies last year, Dutcher believes his Aztecs have what it takes to slay a giant.
“We’re heading on the road to play a road game against UConn in Boston and I’ve got a group that I think will be up for the task,” Dutcher said after the win over Yale, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN).
San Diego State boasts of a stout defense that has crippled the attacks of its first two opponents in the tournament. The Aztecs held the UAB Blazers in the first round to just 37.7 percent shooting from the field and the Bulldogs to just 37 field goal percentage.
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