2014 NCAA tournament, San Diego State vs. North Dakota State halftime score: Aztecs end hot and lead 30-23

San Diego State ended the first half on a 15-3 run and lead North Dakota State 30-23 at the half. It looked like Xavier Thames would be the only San Diego State player who decided to up on the offensive end, as he has 16 points to lead all scorers and has made four shots from beyond the arc in this first half.

Head coach Steve Fisher made a key substitution when he decided to put Dwayne Polee in the game to create a mismatch, and it worked. Polee has seven points, on 3 of 5 shooting, to go along with six rebounds. This is a similar move Fisher did against the second matchup against New Mexico when he went to an athletic matchup and also to a 1-3-1 zone.

The Aztecs are playing the game almost exactly like they want to by playing a great defense against North Dakota State, but one key change San Diego State needs to do in the second half is to have more scorers step up to help Thames. Polee so far is that guy and they need that to continue, because this game will likely end with which ever team gets to 60 points.

North Dakota State is the best field goal shooting team in the nation at 51 percent, but so far the San Diego State defense has shut down the Bison to just 28.6 percent from the field. Taylor Braun is North Dakota State's best player and he had been rendered useless with just three points on 1 of 10 shooting from the field, he normally averages 18 points per game.

In the second half. San Diego State needs to keep their defensive effort up and improve their offense a bit. The three-point shot is why the Aztecs are ahead as they have made 5 of 10, but overall they are shooting just 38 percent from the field.