After winning two games against ranked teams in the Las Vegas Players Era Festival in which they played their best basketball of the season, the #24 AP ranked Aztecs went to Fresno State Wednesday night.
With only a couple of days of preparation to open the Mountain West schedule—for one half SDSU played with a Feast Week hangover as they only led the Bulldogs by 5 points at halftime.
The Aztecs eventually pulled away in the 2nd half for an easy 84-62 victory.
San Diego State now turns its attention to “Little Brother”, the University of San Diego Toreros on Saturday night at Viejas Arena. Tip off is scheduled for 7:00pm and will be streamed on the Mountain West Network.
The Aztecs own a 23-14 series advantage over the Toreros and won the last meeting 66-49 at the Jenny Craig Pavilion in the 2019-2020 season. Hard to believe it’s been that long since their last matchup.
For the Aztecs, this is a game they should win easily. Wayne McKinney III faces his former team with whom he played for 3 seasons, so despite the several years of not playing each other, there is a ton of familiarity still here.
On top of that, SDSU is surging: getting key contributions from different players each night. Against Creighton, it was BJ Davis/Miles Byrd. Against Oregon Nick Boyd shined. Jared Coleman-Jones and Pharaoh Compton stepped up against Houston and Magoon Gwath led the Aztecs with 25 and 10 vs Fresno State.
USD on the other hand is flailing. Coach Steve Lavin’s team is 3-5 ranked #300 out of #364 D1 teams in the KenPom rankings. Like Fresno State, they run a fast tempo offense—but also like the Bulldogs, USD can’t wait to get up the court to chuck up bricks.
The Toreros’ offensive efficiency is ranked #357 by KenPom. That is no bueno.
With the loss of McKinney and some other key contributors, the Toreros have a lot of fresh faces. Guard KJ Bradley Jr. leads USD with 16.8 points per game. San Diego Swish League Pro-Am vet, Steven Jamerson II, leads the Toreros in blocks per game.
Kody Clouet, another Swish League vet out of San Marcos High School, is 2nd on the team in scoring but has missed the past 2 games for an undisclosed reason. It is unknown if he will be available against the Aztecs.
With that being said, I’m going to say something I don’t usually like to—Throw out the stats! This is a city rivalry game after all with bragging rights on the line!
As Aztec fans witnessed at Petco Park in December 2015—anything can happen. Including a top 50 KenPom team losing to the #269 as we all witnessed. That was a loss so bad, that it surely sent the Aztecs to the NIT in 2016 and snapped a 6 year NCAA tournament appearance streak.
Fortunately for the Aztecs, this game won’t be played outdoors but in the confines of Viejas Arena with a raucous home crowd that’s ready to great their newly ranked team fresh off a series of encouraging victories away from home.
The Bottom Line
The Aztecs should have too much firepower for the Toreros. While USD has some quickness at the guard position and bouncy interior players who can get out in transition, SDSU is playing a high level of basketball on both ends of the floor.
With a deeper bench, a home crowd to back them up, and an opportunity to claim another city championship, look for the Aztecs to win big. The only question is who will be the guy to get things going this game.
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