At 10:17 p.m. ET the last of Thursday's Sweet 16 slate will tip off when the West region's No. 1 seed Arizona Wildcats tip off with the No. 4 San Diego State Aztecs on TBS in a game that can be live streamed free here. Wildcats fans can hear the game on 1290 AM The Source, while Aztecs fans can tune in to the radio broadcast on 600 KOGO.
San Diego State is on a mission to avoid bitter disappointment in this tourney, after a brutal defeat to No. 15 Florida Gulf Coast last year, and a crushing defeat in 2011 to eventual-champion UConn that head coach Steve Fisher can't let go. "I still think we were better than Connecticut when they won the national championship," Fisher said Wednesday.
This time around, they are 7.5-point underdogs against the top seed, but boast a statistically superior defense to even Arizona's stout unit. Fisher complimented the Wildcats' style, and knows tonight will be a difficult challenge. "They guard, guard, guard, and they share the ball," Fisher said about Arizona. "That is a winning formula and they've got it."
That may be true, but San Diego State is supremely hungry to become recognized. "They're out to prove that they're better than the outside world has given them credit," Arizona coach Sean Miller said. Their defense is frenetic, and locking teams down is something the Aztecs love to do.
"We love playing defense," lead guard Xavier Thames said. "We know offense is going to come, but if we want to win and win big, we have to play defense."
Miller is acutely aware of their stinginess, and knows that the Aztecs routinely double up opponents in steals. "They get big turnovers with the way they play defense, which gives them additional offense," Miller said.
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