SPOKANE, Wash. – Jaedon LeDee had 26 points and nine rebounds, Darrion Trammell added 18 points and fifth-seeded San Diego State used a fast start to overwhelm 13th-seeded Yale and rolled to an 85-57 win in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday night.
The Aztecs scored the first 10 points of the game, led by 24 at halftime and removed any chance of another potential March Madness, bracket-busting upset.
San Diego State (26-10) earned a rematch with No. 1 seed and defending national champion UConn on Thursday in Boston in the Sweet 16. The Huskies beat the Aztecs 76-59 last April in Houston, denying San Diego State a chance at its first title.
The Aztecs will be playing in the Sweet 16 in consecutive years for the first time in school history.
LeDee was again the star for the Aztecs after he scored 32 points in the first-round win over UAB. He made 9 of 12 shots, including a pair of 3s, and in two tournament games is 20-for-30 shooting.
But some of the outside shooting that was absent in the tourney opener returned and San Diego State hit a season-high 13 3-pointers. Trammell had just four points and took four shots against UAB, but hit four 3s against Yale.
Bez Mbeng led Yale with 12 points and Matt Knowling added 11. But even with borrowing the University of Idaho band for a second time, there was no magical late comeback after the Bulldogs (23-10) rallied from down 10 in the final 7½ minutes to top No. 4 seed Auburn in the opener.
For the second straight year, San Diego State didn’t allow a No. 13 seed seeking a landmark second-round upset the chance to breathe. The Aztecs suffocated Furman last year after the Paladins upset Virginia in the first round.
They did the same to Yale.
John Poulakidas, the star of Yale’s upset win over Auburn, wasn’t able to match the same level of shot-making he displayed on the way to 28 points in the first round. Poulakidas missed all five shots in the first half and was scoreless at the break. He finally scored early in the second half, but finished with only nine points.
UP NEXT
While the teams are different, the Aztecs will need to start better against UConn this time than they did in the title game. San Diego State trailed by 16 in the first half of that game and could only close within five points in the second half before UConn pulled away late.
