SDSU Aztecs defeat Yale, reach Sweet 16 for second straight year

New year. New tournament. Same old Aztecs.

For the second year in a row, San Diego State has won its first two games in the NCAA Basketball Tournament.

Sunday night in Spokane, Washington, the 5th seeded SDSU Aztecs beat the 12th seeded Yale Bulldogs 85-57 in a second round matchup in the East Region.

The Aztecs were lead in scoring by All-American Jaedon LeDee, who scored 26 points on 9 of 12 shooting.

SDSU started the game on 10-0 run and never looked back. By the 8 minute, SDSU was up 28-12, with LeDee scoring 15 of the Aztecs' first 28 points.

By the 6:44 mark of the first half, SDSU had increased their lead to 18 points behind 6 of 10 shooting from the three-point stripe.

At halftime, the lead at surged to 45-21 with SDSU shooting a sizzling 51% from the field and 47% from three-point range, making 7 of 15 attempts. LeDee lead all scorers with 17 first half points.

Coming out of halftime, SDSU picked up where they left off as Darrion Trammell hit a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 48-21. Trammell was the Aztecs second leading scorer with 18 points.

The Aztecs finished with a season high 13 3-pointers, making 13 of 26 attempts for the game.

SDSU will play UConn in a Sweet 16 game in the East Regional Thursday in Boston, Massachusetts. The Huskies are the #1 seed in the East Region, the defending National Champions and the team that beat SDSU in the 2023 national title game.

SDSU will enter the game with a 24-9 record, while UConn comes in with a 33-3 mark.