No. 5 SDSU's 'Elite' Defense Commands Respect on Twitter in Rout of No. 13 Furman
On the strength of a suffocating defensive performance, fifth-seeded San Diego State ended No. 13 Furman's Cinderella run in the second round of the 2023 NCAA men's basketball tournament on Saturday.
The Aztecs blew out the Paladins 75-52, putting a damper on an explosive offensive team that ranked 10th in Division I this season with 81.7 points per game.
Seth Davis of CBS Sports was among the experts and fans who lauded SDSU's defensive effort, heralding the Aztecs as an "elite" defensive team:
Several others also took to Twitter to praise head coach Brian Dutcher's Aztecs, who reached the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2014:
Furman shocked the college basketball world with a gritty 68-67 upset of the fourth-seeded Virginia Cavaliers in the first round, but the Paladins never posed much of a threat to San Diego State.
Once the Aztecs took a 19-17 lead with 8:36 remaining in the first half, they never looked back.
In fact, the Paladins went nearly 11 minutes without a made field goal before Mike Bothwell's two-point jumper with 22 seconds left in the first half.
Furman couldn't find any semblance of offensive rhythm Saturday with SDSU holding the underdogs to 32.0 percent shooting from the field and 23.1 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
The Aztecs also forced nine turnovers and dominated on the boards, winning the rebounding battle 41-25.
Equally impressive was San Diego State's offensive efficiency, as it shot 50.0 percent from the floor.
Four players scored in double figures for the Aztecs, and it was guard Micah Parrish who led the way with 16 points off the bench on 6-of-12 shooting.
With SDSU playing at a high level at both ends, it will be a tough Sweet 16 opponent for the winner of No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 8 Maryland.
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