San Diego State may be the only double-digit seed in the Sweet 16, but the Blue Devils know better than to take the Aztecs lightly after they cruised to their first NCAA regional appearance since the tournament expanded in 1994.
No. 2 Duke (29-5) could have its hands full with a San Diego State squad riding an eight-game winning streak when it meets the No. 11 Aztecs in Memphis Saturday at 2 p.m.
An NCAA Tournament berth was far from a given for San Diego State (23-10) after the team finished third in the Mountain West Conference during the regular season. But the Aztecs locked up an automatic bid by winning their conference tournament and picked the perfect time to play their best basketball of the season—becoming this year’s Cinderella story in the process.
“The seedings mean just about nothing,” senior co-captain Joy Cheek said. “You can see a lot of parity in the games. [The Aztecs] could have done the same things they’re doing throughout the season had they played in the ACC or SEC.”
San Diego State rolled over No. 6 Texas 74-63 in the first round, leading by as many as 19 on the Longhorns’ home floor. The Aztecs’ next upset, a 64-55 win over No. 3 West Virginia Tuesday, put an end to one of the Mountaineers’ best seasons in school history.
In order for Duke to have success against San Diego State, the Blue Devils will need to shut down the Aztecs’ standout senior guards. Jené Morris is averaging 29.5 points per game in the Tournament and shooting a torrid 60 percent from 3-point range. She and her backcourt partner Quenese Davis combined to score 46 of the team’s 64 points against West Virginia, and the pair feels like it has nothing to lose against Duke.
“At this point there is no pressure on us,” Morris said. “We can just go [to Memphis] and play our hardest and give it all we got, so I think there is no ceiling for us. The sky is the limit.”
But the Blue Devils already have experience shutting down explosive guards in the Tournament, and they will look to bring the same defensive intensity that keyed their second-round victory over Louisiana State into Saturday’s game.
Duke frustrated the Tigers’ leading scorer Allison Hightower with its matchup zone Monday, holding her to 1-of-9 shooting in the second half, and used its full-court press to force 22 turnovers.
Head coach Joanne P. McCallie said San Diego State’s style of play closely resembles that of Louisiana State, and she emphasized the importance of getting one-on-one stops since the Aztecs frequently run isolation plays for Morris and Davis to take advantage of their athleticism and quickness.
The Blue Devils have also come to relish the chance to use tough defense in order to create scoring opportunities on the other end.
“I feel like our team likes to play defense,” Cheek said. “I think we have fun playing defense, and we have fun pressing and making teams turn the ball over, and then we get rewarded because we’re back on offense where most of us like to score.”
If the Blue Devils can contain San Diego State’s formidable guard tandem, the Aztecs may have trouble mustering another reliable offensive option—the team’s highest Tournament scorer after Morris and Davis is averaging only 7.5 points per game.
Duke, on the other hand, has four players averaging nine points or more through the first two rounds. Junior guard Jasmine Thomas, one of 12 finalists for the Wade Trophy, given annually to the nation’s best player, remains the focal point of the offense.
But McCallie knows that she can call upon multiple players when the Blue Devils need a basket down the stretch.
“To me, balance is necessary on great teams,” McCallie said. “I know there can be great players on great teams, but scoring balance and the fact that you have five people on the floor that are willing to attack makes for a great team.”
And Duke hopes that balance can derail an opponent that would love nothing more than to knock off another elite program on the way to the Final Four.
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