San Diego St. Gaining Some Respect… #13

Finally, after a win against #16 Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse, the Aztecs move up in the rankings. SDSU moves up 8 spots to #13 and Kansas only moves down 2 spots to #18.

The Kansas win was huge for San Diego State. It will also play a huge role in their NCAA Tournament resume.

The Aztecs now have wins verse three ranked teams in four tries. Their only loss against a ranked team is the now #1 ranked Arizona Wildcats. SDSU improves to 13-1 after defeating Boise St. last night at Viejas Arena.

There really is not many teams in the Mountain West Conference that can show the Aztecs much fight this season. In past seasons UNLV, Colorado St., New Mexico, Boise St., and even Wyoming were all formidable opponents. This year many of those teams’ players either graduated or went to the NBA. The Aztecs can easily see themselves with an above 25 win season this year.

The key is to keep their momentum going. They need to keep up their stout defense. The Aztecs are only getting better as they are playing together. They have a lot of young players as many of their seniors graduated last year. This core may be still primarily in tact, with the exception of Thames and Davis, next year with the highly ranked recruiting class coming in.

This is a program with its eyes on the NCAA Tournament though. Get us there and thats when the season begins. Four straight tournament opponents is pretty successful, but State wants to take that next step. The Aztecs have the defensive prowess, and the talent, to be a Sweet 16 type team. Who knows, Final Four?

#21 San Diego State’s Defense Steps Up Big Against the #16 Kansas Jayhawks

This may be San Diego State Basketball’s biggest win in program history. Kansas is among the most prestigious basketball programs in the country, in the same realm as Duke, Kentucky, and North Carolina. Kansas has what some consider the #1 Pick in the NBA Draft in Andrew Wiggins. But we all know that.

San Diego State’s big men came up huge in this game. The combination of Josh Davis, Skylar Spencer, and J.J. O’Brien scored a combined 30 points with 32 rebounds. Even more impressive they were able to obtain 16 offensive boards. SDSU’s big men dominated the glass and played outstanding defense. Skylar Spencer had a career high 6 blocks. He is creeping up in the top 35 in the country for blocks per game.

Xavier Thames was his loyal self with 16 points, including 4 clutch free throws to seal the game.   Winston Sheppard added 9 points. 

The real key to this game was the defense. Steve Fisher has put together phenomenal defenses with varied players over his tenure as SDSU’s coach. With a whole roster of lengthy athletic players, Fisher has been able to maximize this 2013 team’s defensive potential. The Aztecs rank 1 in opponent FG% in the entire country. They also are 1 in opponent points per game. That is a crazy stat, but one you have to respect. 

In the first half alone Kansas field goal percentage was a pathetic 20.9%. Thats not a fluke. SDSU was playing persistent D and shut down the Jayhawks. They finished sub-30% from the field to finish the game. 

As I said before, this is a huge win for San Diego and they need to continue this momentum. After beating Boise state (in a scarily-close late game), there does not seem to be anyone threatening on the Aztecs schedule for the next possibly-8 games.

#21 SDSU Keeps Rolling Verse Colorado State

Entering the polls at #24, moving up to #20, and then dropping to #21 after beating three teams in a row by an average of 49.7 points. I said it once and I will say it again, Aztecs deserve some respect.

Maybe the pollsters took offense to the Aztecs accepting a game verse St. Katherine, a team playing in it’s first season and with less than 150 students.

The Aztecs wanted to be 11-1 going into the Kansas University matchup and had a solidified test verse Colorado St. The Rams lost 5 of their starters from last years NCAA Tournament team. They played well in the first half as 2013 transfer J.J. Avila led the way. The big man was playing very consistent until fouling out at the end of the second half and finishing with 15 points and 6 rebounds. Guard Daniel Bejarano led the Rams with 22 points.

A steady diet of defense is what led the way. The Aztec defense played phenomenal, hustling getting blocks, steals, and forcing turnovers. SDSU caused 14 turnovers, 9 alone in the first half. Colorado St is averaging only 8.7 turnovers a game this season.

The Aztecs seem to have a ton of the same player. Other than their big men Josh Davis and Skylar Spencer, most of their players are lanky, athletic players from the height range of 6′ 5″ – 6′ 8″.  Steve Fisher has got his players pressing and playing hard all over the court. He has created a defensive culture here in San Diego.

Speaking of Josh Davis, who averaged over 17 points a game last season with Tulane, he had another great rebound night. It seems rebounding is all they ask of Davis as he is a beast on the boards. He finished the game with 15 Rebounds and 7 points. He did not score a single point in the first half and had 8 rebounds. He had 4 offensive rebounds, but failed to take advantage of a few put backs.

Skylar Spencer also failed to execute on a few put backs. Spencer is an extraordinary defender and shot blocker, but also struggles in his offensive game. They Sophomore added 4 blocks to his top 50-ranking blocks-per-game average (ranked #40 at 2.58/game).

Xavier Thames continues to play phenomenal as he scored 23 points going 4-4 on free throws down the ending stretch of the game. Xavier Thames is averaging over 16 points a game this season.

Winston Sheppard continues to show his athleticism and potential scoring 17 points. He is a little wild, similar to former Aztec star Jamaal Franklin, but he is slowly learning his handles and is improving as a player every game.

The Aztecs have a lot of roll players this season. They have their scorers in Sheppard and Thames, and their rebounders in Davis and Spencer. Their bench has also been a huge factor. Players like Dwayne Polee, Aqeel Quinn, Matt Shrigley have been playing well off the bench. Each of these players are exceptional defenders as well. This depth on the bench has been a huge part of San Diego’s success so far in the 2013-14 season.

J.J. O’Brien is finally starting to come back in full swing. He was a huge part of the Aztecs success at the end of last season and has been playing well this season. He injured his hand back in the Wooden Classic, and has not been the scorer he used to be. He is slowly coming back and will be a huge part of San Diego’s NCAA Tournament run. The Aztecs are happy to have O’Brien back semi-healthy for the Kansas game.

The one thing SDSU can look to improve on is free throws and finishing. Although the Aztecs won by 10 points in Colorado, they could have easily put away the Rams sooner. They caused a few turnovers in which they could not finish with points. They missed wide open layups and embarassed themselves a few times. Also, they struggled early on to make free throws. You can argue that this was mainly because big men like Davis and Spencer were getting fouled and they are not good free throw shooters.

If SDSU wants to really challenge the Kansas Jayhawks, they will need to bring their A-game. They will need to finish when they cause turnovers, and hit clutch free throws. Anything is possible.