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NCAA Tournament 2015: Aztecs Loom Sunday

Make no mistake, the Aztecs are a serious challenge for Duke.

By JD King

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Mar 20, 2015; Charlotte, NC, USA; Robert Morris Colonials forward Lionel Gomis (1) shoots the ball against Duke Blue Devils center Jahlil Okafor (15) during the second half in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Time Warner Cable Arena.
Mar 20, 2015; Charlotte, NC, USA; Robert Morris Colonials forward Lionel Gomis (1) shoots the ball against Duke Blue Devils center Jahlil Okafor (15) during the second half in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Time Warner Cable Arena.
Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

When Duke plays San Diego State Sunday, inevitably, there will be a bit of nostalgia in the air. That's because 23 years ago, Mike Krzyzewski and Steve Fisher faced off twice, once in the regular season and once for the national championship.

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They played one more time after that, the following fall.

Duke won all three games.

We can't remember if they coached against each other after that, but when you put the Fab Five up against Duke's back-to-back title champs, well, it caught the imagination (actually, San Diego State came to Cameron in 2001 and lost 92-79).

Fisher was caught up in the Ed Martin scandal at Michigan and fired in 1997.

San Diego State hired Fisher in 1999 and he's been there ever since - and he's built what is now probably the best program in California and one of the top two or three on the West Coast.

It's a measure of how much things have changed when you realize that Gonzaga and San Diego State have been more consistent than any PAC-12 programs on the coast, including UCLA.

The Aztecs have built a hardnosed program built around defense and a lack of flash - fairly different from the Fab Five days.

This year's team is long and balanced.

Fisher has two big men in Skylar Spencer (6-10) and Angelo Chol (6-9) and seven guys between 6-6 and 6-8. He also has six guards on the roster between 6-2 and 6-4.

Three guys hit double figures - Winston Shepard, Aqeel Quinn and JJ O' Brien - 11, 10.8 and 10.3 respectively.

Dwayne Polee, the St. John's transfer, averages just under eight.

As a team, San Diego State averages 62 ppg.

One potential problem for Fisher's team: Quinn had food poisoning this past week and may or may not be fully recovered.

Given SDSU's size and athleticism, Duke will have to work hard to compensate and will have to rebound well to keep the Aztecs from simply beating Duke on the boards.

The Blue Devils will probably need strong games from starters Jahlil Okafor and Justise Winslow as well as Marshall Plumlee and Amile Jefferson off the bench and Duke should assume that San Diego State will light it up from outside like the Aztecs did against St. John's.

As Villanova demonstrated Saturday evening, a high ranking means nothing if the other team outplays you. It's going to take a serious effort for Duke to win this game.

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