San Diego State Basketball recorded a 72-56 win over Georgia Tech on Wednesday night, securing a trip to the National Invitation Tournament Final Four.
After being left out of the NCAA Tournament, the Aztecs have won their first three games in the NIT, and secured a second trip to the tournament’s Final Four – which is held at Madison Square Garden – in the last seven seasons.
With two more wins and an NIT championship, Steve Fischer would tally his third 30-win season at SDSU, and his second in the last three years.
Sophomore guard Trey Kell, who scored 18 points in the win over the Yellow Jackets, is determined to take home the title.
“We didn’t start that well this season,” Kell said. “People started to count us out. We took that as motivation, determined to change people’s minds. It started by changing the feeling in the locker room. We did well in conference and now we’re in the NIT and now we’re trying to win it all.”
Georgia Tech head coach Brian Gregory had high praise for the victorious Aztecs
“It was a team that was probably playing in the wrong tournament,” Gregory said. “They deserve to play in the NCAA tournament. Their numbers showed it, their record showed it.”
But there are three teams standing in the way of SDSU returning to San Diego as NIT champions, including former rival Brigham Young University.
The Aztecs will face George Washington University on Tuesday, March 19 for a title game berth on the line.
The winner of that game will play the winner of Valpariso University and BYU.