SDSU goal: one and not done

SAN DIEGO – Just one victory.

Is it too much to ask that a university have at least one NCAA tournament victory in its history?

Uh, yeah, if you’re San Diego State.

“Oh, man, we have no wins?” said guard Brandon Heath, cringing at his school’s 0-4 NCAA tourney record.

In their seventh season under Steve Fisher – who won the national championship at Michigan 17 years ago – the Aztecs will try to shed that one-and-done image when they play the Indiana Hoosiers and their lame-duck coach, Mike Davis, on Thursday night in Salt Lake City in a first-round game in the Oakland Regional. The winner will face the Gonzaga-Xavier victor in the second round.

To be fair, the current players are blame-free. Only one, center Trimaine Davis, was with the Aztecs in 2002 when they were blown out 93-64 by Illinois in their last NCAA appearance. And he was redshirting then.

“It really doesn’t affect us,” he said. “This is a whole new different ballgame and a whole new different group of people. This is the group that’s motivated to break the goose egg. Very capable.”

SDSU’s Davis knows the Hoosiers will be motivated to win for their coach, who announced earlier in the year he would resign when the seasons ends.

The Aztecs would like to win for others, too – fans who’ve never experienced an NCAA victory.

Davis said he and fellow seniors John Sharper and Mohamed Camara are “dedicated to making sure that San Diego State is remembered as a powerhouse. And we have the biggest opportunity of our lifetime to do it.”

Said Fisher: “I do think that we have the ability to be a factor every year. Now, I don’t know that ‘powerhouse’ at this stage is the proper word.

“I think what he’s saying is he believes, and I do, too, that we can be a program that will sustain itself with the kids you’ve got who help recruit other kids who win, who want to win more, who can be a potential NCAA team every year. And that’s what everybody wants.”

Fisher rattles off a list of attributes that should help make SDSU an annual contender – academic support, a great arena – which will host first- and second-round NCAA games this week – and a terrific location.

SDSU’s athletic legacy can be summed up rather succinctly – Don Coryell, Tony Gwynn, Marshall Faulk, Michael Cage.

Otherwise, it’s known as an awesome party school.

“And now, if we can go out and win a few games in this tournament, and if we can say, ‘Boy, did you see what we did in the tournament?’ that would help,” Fisher said.

The Aztecs’ sad, skimpy NCAA history pales in comparison to their coach’s postseason resume.

Fisher won his first seven NCAA tournament games at Michigan, including his incredible run to the 1989 national title after Bo Schembechler promoted him on the eve of that tournament when Bill Frieder announced he had accepted the Arizona State job.

After recruiting the Fab Five, Fisher reached the title game again in 1992 and ‘93, losing both times.

By the time Fisher left Ann Arbor, he’d won 20 NCAA tournament games. Including SDSU’s NCAA loss four years ago, Fisher is 20-7 (.741), ranking him fourth among active coaches in winning percentage.

SDSU’s only postseason win was in the NIT in 2003.

The Aztecs (24-8) finally lived up to expectations this season by winning the Mountain West Conference regular-season title and, despite poor shooting, the conference tournament with an overtime victory against Wyoming.

Fisher doesn’t think the Aztecs will be outclassed like they were four seasons ago, when they broke a 17-year NCAA tournament drought only to draw fourth-seeded Illinois at the United Center in Chicago.

“They were big-time good, significantly better than we were,” Fisher said.

“As much respect as I have for Indiana, they’re good. They’re not significantly better than we are. And I know that, and our kids will believe me when I tell them that. Can they beat us? Absolutely. Will they beat us? I hope not. If we play well, we will have a chance to win the game, and I’m confident of that.”

The Aztecs did turn one corner this season.

A year ago they had a bad habit of coming from ahead to lose. They imploded after one of their most embarrassing defeats, when they blew a 10-point lead over UNLV with less than 30 seconds left in regulation and lost 93-91 in overtime.

This year, an eight-game winning streak included the Aztecs’ first win at Utah since 1982 – in the same arena where they’ll play Thursday night – and an overtime win at Wyoming when Davis converted a three-point play with 0.3 seconds left.

“That was a good springboard for us,” Fisher said. “That let our kids know, it doesn’t matter where you are, you can still win. Not unlike against Wyoming in the tournament. We’re down four, with (Marcus) Slaughter out of the game, in overtime, and all of a sudden we win the game.”

The Aztecs hope they’ve still got a victory or two left in them.

“We’re eager to get out there and prove to everybody in America that we can play with anybody in the country,” said Heath, the MWC Player of the Year.

As he knows, 1-4 looks better than 0-5.