The San Diego State men’s basketball team returns to action at Viejas Arena today at 2pm to take on the Idaho State Bengals from the Big Sky Conference. While potato tears are more preferred when they are squeezed from the school located in Boise, Aztec fans will have to make do for now with the generic brand from Pocatello.
SDSU drilled Long Beach State 77-45 in the season opener without 2 of its top players in Magoon Gwath and Reese Dixon-Waters. Gwath was medically cleared for physical contact this past week but it unknown if he will make his season debut in the game. Waters missed the Long Beach State game with a corneal scratch in his eye. Coach Brian Dutcher said in his weekly press conference that Dixon-Waters will be ready to go against Idaho State but wearing goggles.
Here are 3 things to know about Idaho State.
New and Inexperienced
The Bengals are entering the 2025-2026 season flipping over most of their roster. Head coach Ryan Looney has brought in six new players—two freshmen and four transfers from across Division I, II, and NAIA levels—to complement a few returners from last year’s team.
According to KenPom website, the Aztecs rank 18th in the nation in continuity minutes (minutes played together).
Idaho State? Ranked 158th
The Aztecs rank 97th in experience (1.77 years)
Idaho State? Ranked 299th with average college experience of .81 years.
The inexperienced, new face Bengals will have their feet put to the fire by the Aztecs in Viejas Arena in front of a vocal home crowd. This may lead to mistakes and turnovers that the Aztecs hope to convert into points.
3rd Game in 5 Days
For programs like Idaho State that lack the resources of a program like San Diego State, out of conference paychecks are a really big deal for funding their athletic department. This means scheduling when you can and may result in playing on short rest.
The Bengals started the season on Tuesday with a 81-71 win at home over Park University- Gilbert, AZ (NAIA). They followed up on Friday on the road at University San Diego winning a close game 71-68. Now comes the real step up in competition on 2 days rest against the 25th ranked KenPom team that played its last game on Tuesday.
Will the Bengals be fatigued from chasing a paycheck? Will they be able to keep up with an Aztec team who showed it likes to push the pace in transition in the blow win against Long Beach State?
Inside Out
Against the University of San Diego, Idaho State preferred to run their offense through their 6’8 255 power forward/center Caleb Van De Griend. The junior from Washington scored 13 points on 4-8 shooting and 5-8 from the line. He was looking to back down his opponent and score or pass out of the post if double teamed. The style of offense will remind Aztec fans of Jaedon LeDee’s senior season in 2023-2024. While not as gifted as a scorer as LeDee, Van De Griend has similar height and size to attack the rim.
It will be interesting to see how the Aztecs defend Van De Griend and if they will send double teams to force the ball out of his hands. The Bengals have capable 3 point shooters in 6’7 forward Connor Hollenbeck who is hitting 38.5% from deep.
The bottom line is the Aztecs should win this game handily. They are 22.5 point favorites to win the game. If the last game against Long Beach State is any indication, SDSU can throw waves of players at an opponent without skipping a beat
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