San Diego State scores historic upset win over top-seeded Alabama in Sweet 16

The Alabama Crimson Tide are headed home from the NCAA Tournament, following a historic upset from the likes of the San Diego State Aztecs.

San Diego State used a 12-0 run to really take control in the second half after Alabama quickened the pace out of the gates following halftime. But it was a game in which some of the star players didn’t make much of a difference in the 71-64 Aztecs win.

How did San Diego State win?

“Just with gutty defense and rebounding,” coach Brian Dutcher said. “They got their way to start the second half but we took a timeout, Darrion Trammell came out, hit two big baskets out of the timeout and kind of stopped the momentum. And then we just played Aztec basketball. We played together, we played the right way and we came out with a win.”

Working through a groin injury, Alabama star Brandon Miller scored just nine points on a woeful 3-of-19 shooting night from the floor.

That might not have been overly problematic if not for San Diego State being significantly more comfortable in a halfcourt game.

“Alabama’s a great team. They have a lot of talented individuals,” Trammell said. “We knew it was going to be hard, but it was a dogfight. Very physical. They’re a physical team. They defend at a high level, so it was just a high-level game tonight.”

Alabama’s transition offense only showed up in spurts, not enough to make a meaningful difference in the game.

And it was the supporting cast that was terrific around leading San Diego State scorer Darrion Trammell, who scored 21 points in the contest. The Aztecs had only one other scorer in double-figures in the game, but they got scoring contributions from all but one of the players who entered the Sweet 16 contest.

San Diego State’s size and physicality seemed to bother Alabama, which finished the game just 23-of-71 (32.4%) shooting from the floor. The Crimson Tide were even worse from 3-point range, going just 3-of-27 (11.1%).

Despite that, the Aztecs didn’t feel like this was some historic upset.

“It’s just who we are,” Trammell said. “We feel like we can beat any team in the country. We work hard and we feel like we have the DNA of a winning team that goes far in March. We have experience, we have grit. So this is what we’re supposed to do.”

Now San Diego State will advance and await the winner of Princeton and Creighton in the Elite Eight.

The Aztecs know one thing: They’re not ready to be done playing.

“We’re proud of this group and our work isn’t done,” Dutcher said. “We’re not going to over-celebrate, we’ve got another game to play.”