San Diego State coach admits he knows nothing about Alabama: ‘The greatest opponent is ourselves’

San Diego State coach admits he knows nothing about Alabama: ‘The greatest opponent is ourselves’

Brian Dutcher doesn’t know anything about Alabama.

The San Diego State coach admitted as much Saturday night not long after his Aztecs had little trouble ending the run of March Madness darling Furman, getting 16 points from Micah Parrish to pace a balanced scoring attack and pulling away for a 75-52 win on Saturday in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

The Aztecs advance to face No. 1 overall seed Alabama, a 73-51 winner over Maryland, in the Sweet 16.

“You know what? I don’t know a thing about either one of them,” Dutcher said when asked if he had seen Alabama or Maryland on film. “By the end of tomorrow, I know everything about the team we’re playing. … Whoever we play, we’ll try to be the best version of ourselves.

“The greatest opponent is ourselves. We have to play up to our standard. We do that we’ll have a chance to win.”

Jahvon Quinerly finished with 22 points for Alabama. Brandon Miller finished with 19 points, a game after going scoreless in the first round.

Now, the Tide faces San Diego State.

“They are a great defensive team,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said of San Diego State right after his team’s beat Maryland on Saturday night. “Furman is a good offensive team. They shut them out. They switch one through five. We’ll have to get ready to play. Our defense is going to have to be great. Our offense got to be good, too. They are a great defensive team.”

Mark Heim is a sports reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim.