Unlike in their previous two trips to the Big Dance, the No. 11 seed San Diego State Aztecs failed to win a game in the 2025 edition of the NCAA Tournament.
The Aztecs had to pack their bags right away following a forgettable Tuesday night in the First Four round against the No. 11 seed North Carolina Tar Heels, as the Mountain West Conference team suffered a 95-68 loss to Hubert Davis’ squad at UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio.
The Aztecs’ usually stingy defense was repeatedly torched by RJ Davis and the Tar Heels while San Diego State’s offense went cold. North Carolina’s shooting was simply too much for San Diego State, which had a 15th-ranked adjusted defensive efficiency of 94.6.
The Tar Heels shot 52.6 percent overall from the field while converting 14 of their 24 tries from behind the arc. They were on fire in the first half where the Tar Heels posted a 61 field goal percentage and went 7-for-9 from deep.
San Diego State’s Brian Dutcher reflects on the Aztecs loss
North Carolina’s brilliance from the perimeter stretched San Diego State’s defense and forced the Aztecs into hunting for home runs in a desperate attempt to come back from a huge deficit that went as big as 40 points.
“Obviously, our game plan was not good enough,” San Diego State head coach Brian Dutcher said in the postgame press conference (h/t San Diego Sports 760).
“We tried to switch ball screens front, but they drove us. They got it over the top, and we got down by so many at that point you’re just trying to find a way to go on any kind of run — to hang in there, to make it where they might feel you at the end. But they expanded the lead, and then it was just trying to play for pride at that point. We were so desperately out of it … We’re a proudful program. We wanted to fight to the end. We did not want to give in to them. And to our kids’ credit, I thought they fought to the very end. There are lessons to be learned, obviously,” Dutcher added.
The Aztecs concluded their 2024-25 season with a 21-10 overall record to go with a 14-6 conference slate.
Meanwhile, the Tar Heels will face the No. 6 seed Ole Miss Rebels in the first round on Friday at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.
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