SDSU and Creighton meet in Las Vegas for the 2024 Player’s Festival Tournament

The San Diego State Aztecs are coming off their first loss of the season.

When SDSU hosted Gonzaga last Monday night, the expectation was that the contest would be a tight and closely fought battle. The Bulldogs would go on to win by 13, but the score remained close enough where the Aztecs gave themselves an opportunity to win.

No. 3 Gonzaga’s win was the first win as a ranked opponent in Viejas Arena in the Brian Dutcher era. SDSU was previously 6-0.

Coach Dutcher and his team are now in Las Vegas for a week-long tournament. First, the Aztecs take on Creighton on Tuesday morning. Then, they face Oregon on Wednesday.

The team will remain in Vegas the following two days to play again on Saturday. The original plan was for them to play Texas A&M on Saturday, but now they will wait and see. The opponent will be one of Alabama, Rutgers, Notre Dame, or Houston, depending on how they all finish in the Impact Group. The Power Group is SDSU, Creighton, Oregon, and A&M.

This game against Creighton will be played on TBS and starts at 11:00 AM PT.

San Diego State-Creighton History

Since 2019, the Aztecs and Blue Jays have met three times, with SDSU taking the recent game 57-56 in the Elite Eight of the 2023 NCAA Tournament. These two programs have met a total of nine times, with Creighton having the 5-4 win advantage. However, San Diego State has won three of the last four.

Creighton is the one Big East team that SDSU faces the most, as this will be the 10th meeting all-time.

Getting to Know the Blue Jays

No. 21 Creighton is 4-1 on the season and is coming off a loss to Nebraska at home, 74-63. That was the Blue Jays first true test and they fell short against their state rival. Now, they aim to bounce back with a win against San Diego State.

Guard Pop Isaacs scored a team-high 25 points in the loss. He is not the top-scoring option for the Jays, so seeing a performance like that early in the season is good to see.

Ryan Kalkbrenner is the team’s top offensive player. The 7-foot-1 center scored 49 points in the opening win of the season against UT Rio Grande. However, against Nebraska, Kalkbrenner scored just four points in 39 minutes of action (most minutes all season). He did not make a single field goal but grabbed 11 rebounds. Prior to the game, Kalkbrenner led the nation in field goal percentage. Now, Daniel Batcho of Louisiana Tech leads at 88.9%. Kalkbrenner is second at 87.2%.

The Blue Jays have three players who average north of 10 points per game. Kalkbrenner, Isaac, and Steven Ashworth. Aztecs fans certainly remember Ashworth from his days at Utah State. Ashworth is in his fifth season and second at Creighton. He is averaging 16.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 6.4 assists per game.

Ashworth injured his ankle in the loss to Nebraska.

“We have no idea how long Steven’s going to be out,” Creighton coach Greg McDermott said after the game against Nebraska, according to the Omaha World-Herald. “I think it’s going to be a while.”

The Blue Jays will certainly miss their veteran guard against an opponent who he is familiar with. Ashworth will still be able to provide tips and pointers to his teammates on how to attack the tough SDSU defense.

Creighton averages 83 points per game and allows 65.8. They shoot 48.8% from the field and grab 44.0 rebounds, assist on 18.6 baskets, average 3.4 steals, and block 4.0 shots per game.

SDSU compares with 76.7 points and allows 62.3. SDSU shoots 43.9% from the floor and averages 38.0 rebounds, 15.0 assists, 7.0 steals, and blocks 8.3 shots per game.

Player to Watch: Ryan Kalkbrenner

Kalkbrenner is clearly the player to watch for Creighton in this matchup. Dutcher and his staff are coming up with a gameplan to shut down the 7-foot-1 center. The good news is that Ashworth will not be playing, so the Aztecs can focus much more attention on him.

Kalkbrenner scored 17 points against SDSU in the 2023 Elite Eight contest, finishing with six rebounds and two blocks as well.

Magoon Gwath will have a lot on his plate. As a 7-footer himself, Gwath will spend a majority of the game defending him. Seeing the tape of Nebraska shut him down will be beneficial to watch, as it is now proven that it can happen. Kalkbrenner can be stopped.

Since he scored 49 in the opener, his scoring has gone down tremendously. He followed up that performance with 24 points against Fair Dickinson, then scored 16 against Houston Christian, and, lastly, 14 against Kansas City. His offensive play is trending in the wrong direction, and the Aztecs’ stiff defense should continue to give him fits. Although, he remains a very good rebounder with his size.

The Aztecs need to focus on rebounding and not allow Kalkbrenner to get many second-chance opportunities.

Key to the Game

As mentioned above, rebounding will be a huge key to victory in this matchup against Creighton. The Blue Jays are an elite rebounding team. Not only does Creighton contain a 7-footer, but they also have Jackson McAndrew and Isaac Traudt, who are both 6-foot-10. Frederick King also gets minutes as a 6-foot-9, 250 lb center.

The Blue Jays average six rebounds more per game than SDSU and if the Aztecs can keep that close or even have the advantage, they will see a lot of success in transition and in second-chance opportunities.

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.