With their win over Wyoming, San Diego State was named the regular season Mountain West champion yet again, cementing the program’s place in conference history with their dominance.
Sophomore guard Trey Kell scored 24 points and freshman Jeremy Hemsley chipped in 13 points as well, as the Aztecs went on the road to one of the toughest places to play in the conference, withstanding 27 points from Wyoming senior Josh Adams.
At this point, winning the regular season title is a nice accomplishment for Steve Fisher, as SDSU has finished with at least a tie atop the conference standings five of the past six seasons. However, the expectation is now for this program to take the next step in their progression, one that includes a deep run into the NCAA Tournament.
In the team’s eight berths into the Big Dance, they’ve never made it past the Sweet 16, and have only reached the second weekend twice. At this point, it’s fair to ask whether SDSU is really the national power broker that some have proclaimed it to be, or whether they’re simply a very good mid-major program that hasn’t been able to take their program to the next level. It’s a valid question, though this writer tends to believe that runs into the tournament are overvalued when talking about a program and its legacy.
Either way, the young core of Kell, Hemsley, and RS-Freshman Zylan Cheatham looks more than capable of carrying SDSU into the future. Whether or not they’re ready to carry the Mountain West champion to a special postseason, though, remains to be seen.
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