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NCAAB Predictions: No. 18 San Diego State Aztecs

· Oct 19 - 4 minutes read

The return of Matt Bradley is not good news for the rest of the Mountain West Conference.

Second-leading scorer Trey Pulliam is gone, but the Aztecs do return Lamont Butler, Keshad Johnson, and Nathan Mensah so there is a pretty solid supporting cast to go along with Bradley.

Chad Baker-Mazara #20 of the San Diego State Aztecs | Tom pennington/getty images/afp

San Diego State did see Chad Baker-Mazara head to Northwest Florida State College and Keith Dinwiddie transfer to Weber State. They both averaged more than 10 minutes per game a season ago.

Forward Michal Parrish comes in from Oakland while guard Darrion Trammell is a transfer from Seattle.

San Diego State had Creighton on the ropes in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before falling in overtime. The Aztecs also lost by a point to Boise State in the Mountain West title game so there is some unfinished business. This is a team that could be one of the best mid-major teams in the country.

Only five teams outside of the Power-5 conferences have better odds to win the national title than the Aztecs per the college basketball odds.

Let’s check the latest NCAAB picks, stats, injury reports, and NCAAB predictions. We’ve plenty of NCAAB expert picks for you to consider.

Also check on these NCAAB betting lines.

San Diego State Aztecs

2021-22 record: 23-9
2021-22 Mountain West Record: 13-4
Coach: Brian Dutcher
Odds to win national title: +6600

It didn’t take long for Bradley to make an immediate impact following his transfer from Cal. He scored 23 points in his first game at San Diego State. He averaged 16.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists while starting all 32 games for the Aztecs. He did not shoot the ball well in the Mountain West tournament or in the NCAA loss to Creighton.

San Diego State was 10-2 in games when Bradley had at least 20 points. He was the only double-digit scorer for the Aztecs last season so perhaps he can get some help.

Expectations are pretty high with San Diego State coming in at No. 19 in the Associated Press’ preseason poll.

Amongst the elite.

The first AP Poll is out and your Aztecs are ranked #19.

📰: https://t.co/tX3WEXTu4j #TheTimeIsNow pic.twitter.com/dCqnmHXW3N

— San Diego State Men’s Basketball (@Aztec_MBB) October 17, 2022

Parrish averaged 12.1 points and 6.0 rebounds as a sophomore at Oakland. All three of his 20-point games came in the last 11 contests so he will look to add some offense for the Aztecs.

Trammell averaged 18.7 points and 5.1 assists during his two seasons at Seattle. He had 39 points in a loss in the WAC semifinals in his final game at Seattle. Trammell had 10 games with at least three 3-pointers a season ago so he will add another scoring option from the perimeter.

Adam Seiko and Aguek Arop are other returning players to keep an eye on as this will be one of the most experienced teams in the Mountain West.

It remains to be seen how much freshmen Elizajah Saunders and Miles Byrd play this season.

San Diego State Outlook

Defense is the calling card for the Aztecs. San Diego State led all Division I teams in scoring defense a season ago, giving up just over 58 points per game. Houston and Gonzaga were among the teams to post better field-goal percentage defense numbers.

With the return of six of the nine players who averaged more than 10 minutes per game, this is going to be one of the better defensive teams in the country once again.

The offense was too reliant on Bradley at times and that played a role in San Diego State going 3-4 in one-possession games.

Non-conference games against Brigham Young and Stanford are followed by a showdown with Ohio State and then one with either Arizona and Cincinnati in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational. So, the Aztecs should be ready to roll once Mountain West play begins. A December matchup with Saint Mary’s will be another challenging non-conference test.