When the UConn Huskies and San Diego State Aztecs square off Monday night for all the marbles in the men’s NCAA Tournament, there will be one very important player who has Utah ties.
In fact, he is the Aztecs’ leading scorer.
Guard Matt Bradley, who led SDSU during the regular season with an average of 12.7 points per game, played his senior year of high school at Wasatch Academy in Mt. Pleasant.
Bradley, a native of San Bernardino, Calif., played for Wasatch Academy alongside a bunch of other players from outside the state.
During that 2017-18 season, Wasatch Academy went 24-2 playing a schedule comprised of opponents both in and outside of Utah.
The 6-foot-4 Bradley averaged 17.1 points per game, according to the Deseret News statistical database.
After high school, he began his collegiate career at Cal. He played three seasons for the Golden Bears and was their leading scorer in the final two, averaging 17.5 and 18 points per game.
He transferred to San Diego State prior to the 2021-22 season and averaged 16.9 points per game a year ago for the Aztecs.
This season along with his 12.7 ppg. average, he is averaging 3.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game in 26.4 minutes.
Bradley has struggled some during the NCAA Tournament, as he scored just 18 points combined in the second round, Sweet 16 and Elite 8 after scoring 17 in the first round game alone.
He bounced back in the semifinals on Saturday against FAU, however, scoring 21 points.
On Monday in the national championship game, Bradley will go up against the likes of potential first-round NBA draft pick Jordan Hawkins.