GAMEDAY Mens Basketball
San Diego State 71, Alabama 64
By GARY B. GRAVES
AP Sports Writer
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Darrion Trammell and San Diego State used a dominant defensive performance to knock top overall seed Alabama out of the NCAA Tournament, bottling up All-America freshman Brandon Miller in a 71-64 victory in the Sweet 16.
Trammell scored 21 points while Miller, whose outstanding season was marred by off-the-court complications, was held to nine points on 3-of-19 shooting and had six turnovers.
The fifth-seeded Aztecs (30-6) will face either Creighton or Princeton in the West Region final as they seek their first Final Four in program history. With fellow No. 1 seeds Purdue and Kansas losing during the tournament's first weekend, Houston - which played Miami - was the only top-seeded team remaining.
San Diego State trailed 48-39 midway through the second half before going on a 12-0 run and controlling the game from there. The Aztecs finished with eight blocked shots - five by Nathan Mensah - and forced 14 turnovers.
The March Madness run of Alabama (31-6) was clouded by its response to the Jan. 15 fatal shooting of a 23-year-old woman in Tuscaloosa, which led to capital murder charges against a then-Crimson Tide player, Darius Miles.
Miller was at the scene of the shooting and has not been charged, but police have said in court documents that Miles texted Miller to bring him his gun. Authorities have said Miller is a cooperating witness, and he did not miss any playing time. Miller has received armed security protection during the tournament.
March 24, 2023
| San Diego State | ||||||||||||
| Player | Pos | Min | FG-FGA | FT-FTA | 3P-3PA | OR-TR | Ast | Blk | Stl | TO | PF | Pts |
| K. Johnson | F | 26 | 3-11 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 5-6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 8 |
| N. Mensah | F | 22 | 1-3 | 2-6 | 0-0 | 3-8 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| D. Trammell | G | 30 | 9-16 | 0-0 | 3-5 | 0-5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 21 |
| L. Butler | G | 22 | 1-7 | 2-4 | 0-2 | 1-4 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| M. Bradley | G | 19 | 2-9 | 2-2 | 0-2 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| M. Parrish | 28 | 2-8 | 3-4 | 2-6 | 2-8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 9 | |
| A. Seiko | 21 | 3-4 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | |
| J. LeDee | 18 | 5-9 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 1-6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | |
| A. Arop | 14 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 | |
| Totals | 200 | 26-69 (.377) |
13-22 (.591) |
6-17 (.353) |
17-48 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 18 | 71 | |
| Alabama | ||||||||||||
| Player | Pos | Min | FG-FGA | FT-FTA | 3P-3PA | OR-TR | Ast | Blk | Stl | TO | PF | Pts |
| B. Miller | F | 31 | 3-19 | 2-2 | 1-10 | 2-11 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 9 |
| N. Clowney | F | 28 | 1-6 | 1-1 | 0-3 | 3-8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 3 |
| C. Bediako | C | 25 | 5-7 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 5-7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| J. Quinerly | G | 33 | 4-13 | 1-3 | 1-3 | 0-3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 10 |
| M. Sears | G | 32 | 4-11 | 8-9 | 0-5 | 6-10 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 16 |
| N. Gurley | 16 | 3-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |
| R. Griffen | 14 | 1-7 | 0-0 | 1-5 | 0-3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | |
| N. Pringle | 9 | 2-2 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 2-4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | |
| N. Burnett | 7 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0-2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| J. Bradley | 5 | 0-1 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| Totals | 200 | 23-71 (.324) |
15-20 (.750) |
3-27 (.111) |
20-52 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 14 | 22 | 64 | |