Aztecs Basketball Preview: SDSU vs. San Jose State

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Credit: Don De Mars/EVT Sports

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Credit: Don De Mars/EVT Sports

Aztecs aim for third straight win as they host San Jose State at Viejas Arena on Tuesday night.

Last Saturday night in Reno, Nevada, the San Diego State Aztecs defeated the Wolf Pack 69-50. Led by Magoon Gwath, SDSU took a seven-point lead into the locker room and then ran away with the contest in the second half. Gwath did not miss a shot all night long and finished with his second double-double of the season.

“We shared the ball better,” head coach Brian Dutcher said postgame. “We worked for a couple days on not shooting long, difficult shots right away and moving it more. We knew the ball screens, the lift was going to be there, because they really help a lot, and they hedge the ball screen. I thought we did a good job following the game plan. With that being said, we’re not that coaching staff where, when we lose, everything we did was wrong. We’re not that coaching staff where when we win, we think everything we did was right. The opponent shot 22 free throws, and we shot six. We gave up way too many offensive rebounds in the second half.”

Dutcher continued on with his statement.

“As much as it feels good to win by 19, we won’t dismiss any of the things that we didn’t do well. I told them that in the locker room. They’ve got to be held to a high standard, and not just in winning. Losing and winning, they have to be held to the same standard. We have work to do, but we will do it.”

A few weeks ago, East Village Times wrote that the Aztecs were getting closer to their standard. Dutcher seems confident that his team will do so. That is a great sign, as the very crucial month of February is approaching.

Credit: Don De Mars/EVT Sports

First, San Jose State is in the way. A team that SDSU usually handles is playing much better during this rotation around the sun.

SDSU jumped to 41 in NET after the win at Nevada but recently dropped one spot to 42. The Aztecs are 3-3 in Quad 1 games, 2-1 in Quad 2, 2-1 in Quad 3, and 5-0 in Quad 4.

 

Getting to Know the Opponent: San Jose State Spartans

The Spartans are 10-11 on the season and 3-6 in the conference. After starting the year 0-3, it’s been a positive season for the Gold, White, and Blue, with an impressive win against New Mexico at home. They also won the Ball Dawgs Classic, winning against UTEP, UNC Greensboro, and Long Beach State.

Last time out, the Spartans defeated Wyoming at home 67-58. Latrell Davis scored 22 points on 8-0f-11 shooting, and his team shot 42.9% from beyond the arc in the win. San Jose State is only 3-6 in the conference, but they are playing competitive games. They lost to Boise State by just two points, New Mexico by six, UNLV by six, and Utah State by seven. The win against New Mexico in their second matchup proved they can beat anyone in the conference. However, this game is on the road, where the Spartans are 1-5.

Josh Uduje leads the team in scoring at 15.6 points per game, adding 4.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 0.9 steals.

The senior transferred in from Utah State last season, so he has experience in this conference. Will McClendon is second on the team in scoring at 12.7 per game and adds 3.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 0.8 steals. Davis is the team’s third option on offense at 9.1 points per game and shoots 47.2% from the floor. Robert Vaihola averages 8.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and shoots 57.9% from the floor. Lastly, Donovan Yap averages 8.5 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 0.7 steals. Yap is a transfer from Fresno State and UNLV before that.

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Player to Watch: Josh Uduje

The London, England product is the player to keep an eye on for this battle. He won the 2023-24 Mountain West Sixth Man of the Year award for his efforts off the bench for Utah State. The Aggies won the conference outright last season, and Uduje was a huge part of that. He took his talents to The Bay to be the top guy for the Spartans.

Uduje is tied for 95th in the country in field goal percentage and shoots 51.2% from the field, 34.3% from beyond the arc, and 83.1% from the charity stripe. He was a nonfactor in the win over Wyoming, as he scored just three points in 23 minutes. However, the senior has scored in double digits in all but four games. He has scored 20+ points eight times, including a five-game stretch scoring 21+. Uduje reached a double-double against Cal Poly in the overtime win with 23 points and 10 boards. His season high is 25 points against USC on the road.

 

Key to Victory

The Scarlet and Black must contain the Spartan’s backcourt in this contest.

Their top three scorers are all guards, and they make up about half of the team’s points. Uduje and Davis are both from England and have great chemistry together. Davis is coming off a big night, and Uduje will lead the Spartans on Tuesday night. The key will be not to allow them to attempt good looks from deep and force the duo to commit turnovers.

None of the starting backcourt players hit the three-point shot at a consistent rate. Davis shoots 38.3%, which is respectable, and he has shot 40% from deep in four of his last five games. McClendon leads the team with 39 made triples in the year, and Yap is second with 30. If the San Jose State backcourt can’t hit the three-ball, they could lose by double digits to the Aztecs.

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