3 Things to Watch When San Diego State Hosts Troy

After a week off since their last game, the San Diego State men’s basketball team hits Steve Fisher Court at Viejas Arena again Tuesday night to take on the Men of Troy. Unfortunately, it’s not the Men of Troy from USC the Aztecs are playing but the team from Troy, Alabama. One big difference is that these Bama boys ain’t ducking SDSU, like their west coast counterparts. 

Aztec fans are anxious for the return of 7’0 redshirt sophomore Magoon Gwath. Goon has been sidelined in the first 2 games as he recovers from offseason surgery to his knee and was recently cleared for live contact. The reigning Mountain West Freshman of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year could see limited minutes against Troy as a warmup for the Players Era Tournament in Las Vegas next week. 

Tonight’s game tips off at 7:00pm and can be viewed with live commentary and analysis on the Sons of Montezuma YouTube channel. Join Matteo San Diego, SDSportsFiend and Mike Tourtellott for live coverage. See you in the chat. 

Here are 3 things to know about Troy:

Tired Legs?

This is the 3rd of a 4 game SoCal road trip for Troy. Dreams of California sunshine quickly turned to pouring rain for Troy who after starting the season 3-0 have dropped consecutive games to Loyola Marymount 74-63 on Friday and CSU Northridge 94-85 on Sunday. Now comes the daddy of them all San Diego State, the 3rd game in 5 days with travel against a team notorious for its stifling defense. 

After outrebounding KenPom ranked #109 LMU by a 35-27 margin, Troy got crushed on the boards 42-25 against #203 CSUN (9 below their average). Tired legs & travel could show up even more tonight against an Aztec team who had the week off from its last game and have slept in their own beds. 

Doppelgänger

Cooper and Cobi Campbell are starting guards on the Troy basketball team. How did 2 brothers from Puyallup, WA land in the backwoods of Alabama? Answer: their dad Scott Campbell is an assistant coach for Troy. Cooper, the team’s point guard and primary facilitator looks like he could have earned extra NIL money on this road trip in Hollywood as an Ed Sheeran impersonator.

Almost as flaming red as their hairdos, is their 3 point shooting to start the season. Cooper who is the leading scorer for Troy is shooting 50% (12-24) and brother Cobi is hitting 47.6% (10-21) of his 3s. San Diego State will need to run them off the 3 point line and not give up open shots. 

All Gas No Breaks 

Troy is a team that can fill it up on the offensive end. The Trojans average 87.2 points per game. Most teams would expect to win a lot of games with that offensive output. 48% of their field goal attempts are 3 point shots and they make 37% of those attempts as a team.

All 5 starters have range from beyond the 3 point line and they are a good free throw shooting team. The level of competition Troy has faced however isn’t close to what they will face when they hit the floor to face the Aztecs in the most hostile road environment they may face all season.

Where Troy has problems is on the defensive end giving up 76 points per game. Troy has one good rebounder in 6’8 225 pound forward Thomas Dowd who averages 9 boards. The Trojans give up a lot of offensive rebounds which means junior Miles Heide should feast on the boards this game. 

Bottom Line

This might be a higher scoring game and quicker pace than the Aztecs are used to playing. If they clamp down on Troy’s shooters without fouling a good free throw shooting team, the Aztecs should run away with the game easily. Troy doesn’t have the defense to hang with an Aztec team that is sharing the basketball well and should put up alot of points against Troy. 

The much anticipated return of Gwath will electrify the Viejas Arena crowd and the tired Troy team may wilt under the pressure they face from the Aztecs and its fans who are super excited about the potential for this year’s team.