NCAA Championship Game 2023: Early Preview for San Diego State vs. UConn

A national championship game no one saw coming is on tap, with the 2023 NCAA men's tournament concluding with a matchup between the San Diego State Aztecs and the UConn Huskies in Houston.

The game serves as the culmination of an NCAA tournament that truly brought the madness to March.

With no top seeds in the Final Four, this was one of the most unpredictable tournaments of all time. There were plenty of unexpected developments and wild twists and turns that have led us to this moment.

As we prepare for the final game, here's a look at how both teams got to this point and an early prediction for who will be cutting down the nets.

National Championship Game Info

Date: Monday, April 3

Start Time: 9:20 p.m. ET

TV: CBS

Watch March Madness Live to stream every tournament game through the Final Four.

Aside from Lamont Bulter hitting an instant classic buzzer-beater to complete the fifth-largest comeback in Final Four history, the Aztecs got to this point with a gritty defense and some great late-game execution.

The Aztecs rank fourth in the country in Bart Torvik's defensive efficiency ratings, directly translating into their tournament run. Top overall seed Alabama was one of the favorites to win the tournament, but San Diego State's defense held them to 32.4 percent shooting from the floor in the Sweet 16.

Crimson Tide star Brandon Miller was especially frustrated by San Diego State's defense. He shot 3-of-19 from the floor and scored just nine points.

The Aztecs defense has allowed them to survive despite an offense that hasn't been on fire throughout the tournament. It's been different players who have stepped up throughout the run.

Brian Dutcher's team has had four different leading scorers in five games. Matt Bradley—who is the only player to lead them in scoring twice—had just eight points combined against Creighton and Alabama.

It might seem cliche, but this is a team that has thrived off outhustling opponents and playing with poise under pressure. They've won six straight games when trailing at the half, per ESPN Stats & Info. That includes the Elite Eight matchup with Creighton and the Final Four contest with Florida Atlantic.

They trailed 40-33 at the half and didn't take the lead until the buzzer-beater, leaving them looking for one more win on Monday.

Hindsight is 20/20, but this run from the Huskies shouldn't have been hard to see coming. Dan Hurley's team had some troublesome stretches this season that caused them to be a No. 4 seed.

But they are the No. 1 overall team in Bart Torvik's predictive rankings with a resume anchored by an offense that ranks third in efficiency and a defense that ranks 11th.

Whether they could make a run like this was dependent on which version of the Huskies would show up: the one that ran through Alabama, Oregon and Iowa State on the way to winning the Phil Knight Invitational in November or the one that went 2-5 in January with losses to St. John's and Seton Hall?

That stretch is now a distant memory.

The inside-out combo of Jordan Hawkins and Adama Sanogo has taken over in the tournament.

The Huskies have been dominant on both ends of the floor, holding one of the nation's top offenses in Gonzaga to just 54 points in the Elite Eight while lighting up a good Arkansas defense for 88 points in the Sweet 16.

In a tournament that has been marked by close games and parity, the Huskies are the only team that has won each game comfortably on their way to the final test.

San Diego State deserves all the credit for getting here. They didn't just have a fortunate draw. They took out one of the top teams in the country in Alabama. They survived tough contests with Creighton and Florida Atlantic.

But that last sentence really sets the table for this championship game. It highlights the difference between the Aztecs and the Huskies. San Diego State has survived and advanced; UConn has dominated.

That's a hard trend to ignore.

It will be interesting to see how Adama Sanogo attacks Nathan Mensah on the inside. But even if the Aztecs can keep him out of the paint, he's a good enough three-point shooter to still impact the game, and the Huskies have other offensive weapons who can pick up the slack.

Expect the Huskies' dominant run to continue, and it shouldn't be surprising if they win yet another game by double digits in the tournament.

Prediction: UConn