Aztecs take on Cal Berkeley in the San Jose Tip-Off on Saturday

The San Diego State Aztecs and California Berkeley Golden Bears meet for a highly anticipated game at the SAP Center, home of the San Jose Sharks. The contest can be seen on the ACC Network.

SDSU defeated California Baptist, 81-75, on December 11. CA Baptist outscored the Aztecs by one point in the second half to prevent a comfortable Red and Black victory. The score was much closer than it should have been for a typical home game at Viejas Arena.

A look back at the highlights from our win last night! #GoAztecs pic.twitter.com/NNvSqQF1MF

— San Diego State Men’s Basketball (@Aztec_MBB) December 12, 2024

More often than not, especially at Steve Fisher Court, San Diego State wears down their opponents for 40 minutes. That proved to be the case against the Lancers. There were two occasions where the Aztecs took control of the game. In the end, the Aztecs got the win to improve to 7-2.

SDSU returns to the court for the final non-conference game of the season.

“I’m just trying to get a young team better,” head coach Brian Dutcher said to the media on Dec. 17. “It’s a really young team. I tell them sometimes you think you’re playing hard, and I’ve watched it a long time, and you’re not playing hard enough. I have to coach them without tearing their confidence down but being realistic with them. We’ve gotten better these last three or four days of practice. We added some stuff. We’ve gone back to fundamentals on some other stuff.”

Dutcher continued on with his statement.

“I like this team a lot, but obviously we’re entering a really tough three game stretch with Cal andthen Utah State at home, and then Boise on the road, that’s a really difficult stretch for anyone.We always get better as the season goes on. That’s the thing I like about our program.
Sometimes, coaches are really hard on their team early, and they get a lot out of them, but over the course of a season, I think it can wear a team down, too. We try to be realistic with them. We try to get all we can out of them without jeopardizing tearing their confidence away from them.”

Dutcher and his team now look to Cal. The Golden Bears are a threat in the ACC in their first year as a member of the historic conference.

Getting to know the Opponent: Cal Golden Bears

Cal is 7-4 on the season, coming off a huge win over Northwestern State, 84-66. That win was needed as before that; the Golden Bears were upset at home by Cornell to mark three straight losses. Cal started the season 6-1. Like the Aztecs, they have played one conference game, but unlike SDSU, the Bears dropped that opportunity. They fell to Stanford 89-81 on December 7.

The Blue and Gold score the basketball at a high rate. They average 81.5 points per game, which is 64th in the nation. An important stat to pay attention to in this matchup is the almost identical three-point shooting percentage. Cal shoots the three-ball 38.1%, which is 44th in the nation. Right behind them at 38.0% are the Aztecs. Three-point shooting is key for both teams.

“Cal is dangerous,” Dutcher said. “They’re extremely talented offensively and are playing super hard at the defensive end. It’ll be a challenge for us to go up to San Jose and play them in a neutral court game, but a challenge we’re looking forward to as we try to get better every day that we’re out here on the practice floor.”

The Bears are a brand new team compared to last season. You won’t recognize any names from last season. In fact, only two players (Devin Curtis & Jack McCloskey) have stepped on the court this season who were on the team last year. The transfer portal played a big part in revamping this program.

Cal contains four players who score north of 10 points per game, led by Andrej Stojakovic, the son of legendary hooper Peja Stojakovic. The guards do a majority of the scoring for the Golden Bears, and defending them at a high level will be important on Saturday night.

“They have a good backcourt, and they’ve been really hot recently,” guard BJ Davis explained. ”So, I think just going in there and making them feel our presence on the defensive end is going to be good for us. They’re a good offensive team.”

Stojakovic leads the team in scoring at 19.9 points per game. Jovan Blacksher Jr, who transferred in from Grand Canyon, is second on the team averaging 14.4 points. He adds 2.4 rebounds, 1.4 steals, and 4.0 assists per game.

Freshman Jeremiah Wilkinson is a name to key an eye on for this game. The guard is averaging 11.6 points on 49.5% shooting. He scored 18 points in their last game and had a season-high 25 against Mercyhurst. Wilkinson started the season slow but has really come on lately. He also reached 23 against Air Force.

Speaking of the Falcons, Rytis Petraitis transferred in from Air Force and is averaging 8.1 points in seven starts this season.

Player to Watch: Andrej Stojakovic

Peja Stojakovic was one of the best three-point shooters ever to walk the earth. It is only fitting that his son would replicate that.

Stojakovic transferred in from Stanford and faced the Aztecs last season, where he scored just six points in 21 minutes. Now, he plays a much larger role for the Golden Bears.

He is averaging 19.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.2 blocks and shoots 46.4% from the field and 36.2% from beyond the arc. Over his last five games, Stojakovic nailed 13 triples on his way to double-digit scoring performances. He scored 31 against Northwestern State and finished 10-14 from the floor and 4-6 from deep.

The Aztecs must not allow him to find a rhythm. It’s no question SDSU has a much tougher defensive team than Northwestern State, however, Stojakovic has scored more than 15 points in all but one game this season, including 20+ points in six contests.

The 6-foot-7 guard is 22nd in the nation in scoring and is one of the most improved players in the country at this point in the season.

Key to the Game

Defend the three-ball well.

The Aztecs will excel in this game if they can contain Cal’s elite backcourt. Cal has four players (that play more than four minutes a game) who shoot 40% from three or better. Two of the team’s three leading scorers are two of the four. Stojakovic shoots just 36.2% from beyond the arc but has proven to be a real threat from deep. Blacksher shoots 44% from three in eight games.

The Aztecs are holding opponent shooters to 35.9 percent from the floor, which is No. 1 in the Mountain West and No. 5 in the nation. They are also one of five programs limiting opponents to 35.9% from the floor and 30.0% from deep.

If SDSU defends the three ball well and keeps Stojakovic to fewer than 20 points, then they will have a great shot at winning this game.

Chris Spiering

Chris is a graduate of the University of San Diego. He is the former Sports Editor for the USDVista newspaper. Chris has covered the San Diego Loyal, and now covers San Diego State Men’s Basketball. He also contributes regularly about the Padres. Chris is an athlete and is a huge fan of San Diego sports.