-385
San Diego State’s X-factor for national championship game vs. UConn, and it’s not Lamont Butler
The question for San Diego State against UCONN isn’t whether their defense can stifle the Huskies (hint: yes, they can and will), but whether they can gin up enough offense to drag themselves over the finish line; it doesn’t matter if San Diego State holds UCONN to 60 points if they themselves can’t muster 61.
Ultimately, San Diego State’s x-factor is whether they can find and exploit a weakness against a UCONN team that’s spent the last month playing essentially perfect basketball—and if they can, it’ll be because point guard Darrion Trammell punctures holes in UCONN’s airtight game plan.
A 5’10 transfer point guard, Trammell struggled for most of the year to fit within San Diego State’s offense after having free rein to do whatever he wanted with the ball last year at Seattle University. Recently, though, he’s been increasingly allowed to show off the true breadth of his offensive game, winning Most Outstanding Player in the South Region after hanging 21 points on Alabama and draining the game-winning free throws against Creighton.
For San Diego State to have any chance against UCONN, Trammell has to impose his will on both ends of the court. If he can summon the same level of aggression that he did against ‘Bama and Creighton, he’s the skeleton key that could unlock the Aztecs.
, Trammell is very good at the specific things that UCONN struggles with. While UCONN’s all-around size has helped fuel their 2023 NCAA Tournament dominance, it paradoxically makes it more difficult to matchup against Trammell, who is too slippery and shifty for UCONN’s guards to comfortably contain. Considering that UCONN stopper Andre Jackson will most likely be stationed on Matt Bradley, Trammell should enjoy a pronounced quickness advantage against Jordan Hawkins or Tristen Newton, a pair of offense-first wings.
Lastly unlike Wheeler for UK... Trammell is an expert pull-up shooter, which presents problems for the Huskies’ preferred drop coverage against pick and rolls. UCONN bigs Adama Sanogo and Donovan Clingan are both huge, monstrous rim protectors, but that strength is negated by the basic fact that Trammell doesn’t really get to the rim.
Good Luck DPB
