Despite the Cougs falling out of their projected seeding of making Spokane and now playing in Omaha, Nebraska, there are still eight teams that start play in Spokane Friday.
There will be two No. 4 vs No. 13 seed matchups and two No. 5 vs No. 12 seed matchups. The two regions represented in Washington come from the West and the East. The two East matchups are the first to be played, starting at 10:45 a.m.
A preview of the first four teams:
No. 5 seed San Diego State (24-10)
The San Diego State Aztecs went just 11-7 in Conference play, but have had success this season against several teams featured in the NCAA Tournament. They beat Saint Mary’s by 25, UC Irvine by one, Gonzaga by 10 on the road, Nevada by 12 and Utah State by 14, among others.
In the Mountain West Tournament, they narrowly escaped UNLV in the quarterfinals in a three-point OT win before taking down Utah State by 16 to secure their spot in the finals. Against New Mexico, they were unable to overcome a six-point halftime deficit to lose by seven.
Despite losing that game, they still earned a five seed in the West region, setting them up on a date with UAB in round one.
“We’re excited to be here. We’ve prepared hard. We’re healthy and we’re ready to go,” head coach Brian Dutcher said.
The Aztecs scored an average of 74.6 points per game, but did so while not shooting the three particularly well and also only had two double-digit scorers on average. At just a 31.3% clip, their long balls came from the hands of two players primarily.
Leading scorer Jaedon LeDee, who averages 21.1 points per game, is shooting 41.0% from three and second-leading scorer Reese Waters, who averages 10.1 points, is shooting 36.9% from deep.
In 10 of the last 11 games, LeDee has scored at least 20 points, the one time he failed to reach the mark being a 12-point outing against UNLV, a game the Aztecs lost by four.
If he is shut down, the team struggles. But their coach is not worried about that.
“That’s what March is about. Players making plays to win games,” Dutcher said.
No. 12 seed UAB (23-11)
UAB made its way to the NCAA Tournament through their run in the AAC Tournament. After a 12-6 Conference performance during the regular season, they took care of business against Wichita State, South Florida and Temple. Not favored in that Tournament run, they believe they earned it, rather than stealing the victories.
“Excited to be here, excited for my team. We’ve certainly earned our way here through the play of our guys,” head coach Andy Kennedy said.
Having beaten fellow Tournament team Drake by one in OT, they can beat good teams, but they have played an up and down season.
On one hand, they average 77.8 points per game. On the other, they allow opponents to score 75.2 points. They shoot 45.1% from the field, but also have a 44.5% shooting percentage against them. From three, they shoot just 32.6% while allowing opponents to shoot 34.6% from deep.
Unlike San Diego State, the offensive wealth is spread among the lineup, as four separate players average sit in the double digits and seven different players score an average of at least five points per game.
Their leading scorer is Yaxel Lendeborg, a 6-foot, 9-inch junior in his first year at UAB, averaging 13.9 points per game while adding 10.7 rebounds per game.
While not as good as the Aztecs on paper, winning the AAC proved this team is getting hot at the right time.
No. 4 seed Auburn (27-7)
Head coach Bruce Pearl praised the offense that Yale possess, acknowledging they play at a different pace than most teams and pointing to the recent success of the program as well as Pepperdine to prove they are not taking their competition lightly.
Even then, he continued to praise Yale and their more underappreciated aspect of their game.
“The area that Yale is the most underrated is their defense and their rebounding,” head coach Bruce Pearl said.
Auburn beat several good teams during the regular season but saved their best play for the SEC Tournament. After taking down South Carolina and Mississippi State to play for the Championship, they beat Florida by 19 to win it.
Dropping 86 against the Gators, Johni Broome had 19 points but 10 different Tigers scored, with eight of which scoring at least seven points.
It has been a common theme of this years Auburn team, with six players averaging at least 6.8 points per game, led by Broome, who is averaging 16.2 points on an efficient 54.4% from the field.
Auburn has a potent offense, averaging 83.3 points per game and having just scored under 70 points in just five games in the 2023–24 season.
No. 13 seed Yale (22-9)
Friday will not be the first time Yale has traveled to Spokane this season. Back on Nov. 10, 2023, they took on Gonzaga on their home court and lost by a final of 86-71.
Since then, they’ve taken control over the IVY league and beat Cornell and Brown in the IVY League Tournament to secure a spot to return to Spokane. In the Championship, they narrowly escaped Brown, beating them by one in New York, setting up a date with Auburn.
With five different double-digit scorers, their offensive scheme has no reliance on any individual. Like Pepperdine’s recent Tournament success, the IVY offense can perform on the biggest stage.
Of those five scorers, three different players shoot at least 34% from three, with August Mahoney having the best stroke, shooting 46.4% from deep while making 70 attempts this season.
