If you want to argue that Brandon Miller is the best player remaining in the NCAA Tournament, you won’t get any pushback from me. Spend 5 minutes watching him and you might see him block a shot in transition, hit a step-back 3-pointer, make a perfect pass for a layup and finish at the rim. All of those are in Miller’s arsenal.

But on Friday night against San Diego State in the Sweet 16, the freshman sensation won’t be the most important player on the court. It’ll be Charles Bediako.

It’s Bediako who stands the best chance at limiting what the Aztecs want to do offensively, and it’s Bediako who needs to be able to finish amidst contact in the paint.

If you haven’t watched much San Diego State, here’s your rundown: Throw out whatever impression you have of a mid-major. Undersized? Nope. Reliant on the 3-point shot? Not in the slightest. The Aztecs are big, physical, methodical and more times than not, they’re effective.

Think of San Diego State as a West Coast version of Tennessee.

Want to shoot over them? Good luck. They rank No. 6 nationally in opponent 3-point percentage, which was why actual mid-majors Charleston and Furman were totally ineffective against Brian Dutcher’s team.

Want to drive at the teeth of the San Diego State defense? Good luck with that, too. The Aztecs have a 9-man rotation, and 7 of them check in at 6-6 or 210 pounds (even their guards are built more like football players). They rank No. 5 in adjusted defensive efficiency, and among remaining NCAA Tournament teams, they allow the second fewest offensive rebounds per game.

No easy buckets. Dirty work required.

Nobody does the dirty work for the Tide quite like Bediako, who has averaged 10.4 points, 8.4 rebounds and 3.4 blocks per game since the start of the SEC Tournament. Not coincidentally, the Tide won all 5 of those games by double figures. That included a 22-point Round of 32 win against Maryland, wherein Bediako’s double-double didn’t tell the full story of his impact. The Terps had a 6-minute stretch without a made field goal in the first half and a 5-minute scoring drought in the second half. Just 4 Maryland second-chance points was a credit to the job that Bediako did altering shots and cleaning up the glass.

He wore that well-deserved hard hat in his postgame interviews, too.

Bediako ranks No. 3 in America and No. 1 among remaining NCAA Tournament players in defensive box plus/minus. In other words, he’s a game-changer on that side of the ball, and Alabama feels his absence when he’s not on the floor.

Nate Oats said that Bediako has been huge for Alabama, and that he’s been “intimidating.” The goal, as Oats said, will be to keep him out of foul trouble this weekend, which will be easier said than done for a guy who has more fouls than any player remaining in the field (111). Two early fouls would change the aggressive way Alabama wants to defend the perimeter. It’s much easier to take chances in the passing lanes knowing Bediako is there at the last line of defense.

A shot-changing, rim-running big is something that San Diego State hasn’t faced in the NCAA Tournament yet. If there’s a question about the Aztecs amidst a 12-1 run since the start of February, that’s it. San Diego State is used to winning the points in the paint battle. So far in the NCAA Tournament, they’re +36 on points in the paint.

As long as Bediako stays out of foul trouble, that trend might not continue against the Tide. He said after the Maryland game that the defensive strategy was “if they keep taking contested 2s, they won’t score enough to beat us” (via Blake Byler).

It’s interesting because San Diego State’s defensive strategy is to at least appear to collapse off shooters, but close out quickly enough to turn them into contested 3s. Dutcher’s squad is riding a streak of 15 consecutive games without allowing double-digit made 3s, which will obviously be put to the test against an Alabama team that ranks No. 4 in 3-pointers attempted per game — aforementioned SDSU foe Charleston is 1 of 3 teams that rank ahead of the Tide — having hit that mark in 16 games this season.

Sure, Alabama needs to hit shots to reach the Elite Eight. Obviously. Drop your weapons, “3 is more than 2” crowd.

But when this version of the Tide is at its best, it’s because Bediako is impacting the game on both sides of the floor. There’s no denying he looks like a guy who came into his own over the past 2 weeks. The persona they call “Angry Chuck” has been a common denominator at the perfect time of year. It would bode well if that continued another weekend or 2.

It remains to be seen if Bediako’s progression will help fuel Alabama to its first ever Final Four. Anything less than that would be a disappointment, especially with a path that wouldn’t include one of the other top-4 seeds in the region.

Just don’t sleep on the 5-seed that the Tide will square off with on Friday night. San Diego State might not have the skill or the talent to take down the top-seeded Tide, but Alabama would be wise to make sure 2 things make their way into the Yum Center.

Angry Chuck and a hard hat.