Sweet 16 merchandise to hit SDSU store ‘as early as Tuesday’
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — Fresh off their win against Yale in Washington on Sunday night, San Diego State Men’s Basketball Heads to Boston Thursday in the NCAA Tournament against No. 1 seed UConn, a dreaded foe that took away the Aztecs’ title hopes during last year’s championship.
“They’re not much of a rivalry because they kind of killed us last year in the national championship game, but hopefully we can come out with a win and make another run like last year,” said Ben Turkel, a junior at SDSU.
Turkel plays club baseball and listened to the game on the radio while driving back from Arizona State University.
“Not a lot of nervousness, just glad to see us moving to the Sweet 16,” Turkel said.
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But he expresses what a lot students said on campus Monday: the matchup against UConn has them anxious.
“Since we did so well last year, there’s definitely a lot more expectations of us making it further because it’s hard to top last year’s national championship run,” Turkel added.
As of Monday, there was no NCAA swag on campus. Sweet 16 merchandise like T-shirts and hats won’t arrive until at the SDSU Bookstore Tuesday, but are available online.
“I was actually at the national championship game last year, so I have a Final Four shirt from last year and a national championship game shirt from last year, so maybe if we make it to the next round I’ll be getting an Elite Eight shirt,” Turkel said.
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And if you’re so inclined to travel to Boston, it’ll cost you — not only airfare, but at last check, tickets ranged from nosebleeds at nearly $800 to floor seats in the loge at around $1,500.
Meanwhile, on campus everyone is pulling out the lucky charms.
“When we were winning all of our games last year, I was wearing the same shirt for every single game. I’m very superstitious when it comes to sports. I don’t really change much if it’s working, I don’t change much,” Turkel said.
San Diego State will host a watch party Thursday at Viejas Arena, but it won’t be open to the general public. The watch party is ticketed, and the university is prioritizing access to students, faculty, staff and season ticket holders.
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