The rematch of last season’s NCAA Tournament Championship game will take place on Thursday evening when the 5-seed San Diego State Aztecs face the 1-seed UConn Huskies in the East Region at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, in the Sweet 16. The game will tip off at 7:39 PM ET and air on TBS.

The San Diego Aztecs are in the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive season after finishing last season as the runner-up in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Their loss came in the National Championship game against the UConn Huskies by a score of 59-76. 

Even though the final score did not indicate how much the Aztecs controlled the game in the 1^st round against the UAB Blazers, they bounced back. They controlled the game wire-to-wire against the 13-seed Yale Bulldogs after starting the game off on a 10-0 run and leading the game by 24 points at halftime by a score of 21-45. 

However, Thursday evening will be a true test for the Aztecs, as they will be looking to avenge last season’s loss in the National Championship when they face the UConn Huskies in the East Region's Sweet 16.

The UConn Huskies won the National Championship last season and look like they are unstoppable so far in the 2024 NCAA Tournament when both of their first two games in the tournament in blowout fashion following a 91-52 win in the 1^st round against the Stetson Hatters and controlling the game wire to wire in the 2^nd round against the Northwestern Wildcats after starting the game off on an 11-2 run and leading the game 40-18 at halftime. 

UConn is one of the bluebloods in college basketball, with five National Championships in the last five years, including last year’s National Championship against the San Diego State Aztecs in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. This will be the 20^th time in school history the Huskies have advanced to the Sweet 16, and they have compiled a record of 12-8 in the Sweet 16. This will be the second consecutive season the Huskies have played in the Sweet 16.

WagerWeb has the UConn Huskies listed as 11-point favorites against the San Diego State Aztecs in the Sweet 16 of the 2024 NCAA Tournament on Thursday evening. This will mark the third time in program history for both schools that they will face each other in college basketball. UConn has won the two previous meetings by an average margin of 12 points per game, including last season’s meeting in the 2023 NCAA Tournament Championship game by a score of 76-59.

UConn has looked like the most dominant team in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. It has won by an average margin of 28 points per game and has not trailed in any of its games after winning the regular season and conference tournament championship in the Big East. The Aztecs played dominant in both of their games but are 1-1 ATS in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, while the UConn Huskies have covered the spread in both of their games in the tournament and have covered the spread in eight of their last nine games, which is why I am laying the points with the UConn Huskies when they face the San Diego State Aztecs in the Sweet 16 of the East Region on Thursday.