San Diego State got blown out in its first game of the Players Era versus No. 7 Michigan, 94-54. Coach Brian Dutcher and the Aztecs are going to need to wipe this one from the memory bank quickly.

The Aztecs face off against an Oregon team that lost 84-73 to No. 22 Auburn Monday evening.

In last year’s matchup, Oregon defeated the Aztecs 78-68, forcing a matchup against No. 6 Houston. Oregon is looking to repeat last year’s result, while the Aztecs are looking to get an impressive win on their resume.

Oregon is led by head coach Dana Altman, who has a pretty impressive track record not only as the head man, but in Oregon basketball history. Coach Altman is Oregon’s all-time winningest coach with 374 wins. Since Altman has been at the helm, Oregon has won 20 or more games in all of his seasons in Eugene. Last year, Oregon made the NCAA Tournament and defeated Liberty before losing to Arizona in the Round of 32.

Looking at this year’s squad for the Ducks, Altman plays seven to eight players, depending on how the flow of the game is going.

His starters have a lot of similarities to Michigan in size and length. The Aztecs struggled with the size of the Wolverines; Oregon will pose the same issues for the Aztecs. Despite outrebounding Auburn by 12, Oregon still managed to lose by 11. Turnovers were the main issue as the Ducks had 18 turnovers versus Auburn, while only forcing six. Oregon really struggled from beyond the arc with making 9-of-33 from three-point land.

Player To Watch: Jackson Shelstad

Shelstad is the lead guard for the Ducks, whom they turn to when they need a bucket. Shelstad, so far this year, has struggled from the three-point line. That was noticeable in Monday’s contest versus Auburn, where he shot 1-for-11. The guard is a very talented player who knows how to put the ball in the basket. He is also someone who seemingly can get his teammates involved at will, even when he struggles. Even amidst a poor shooting performance, Shelstad had eight assists with only two turnovers in Monday’s game.

Keys to the game

There are two very clear keys for the Aztecs when it comes to pulling out a win Tuesday night.

Rebound: San Diego State got outrebounded by Michigan 49-34, giving up 15 offensive rebounds to the Wolverines.

Unfortunately for the Aztecs, the task of rebounding does not get any easier. Oregon not only out-rebounded Auburn 46-34, but Oregon also grabbed 20 offensive rebounds. The key to rebounding against a team of the size of Oregon is being more physical and team crashing. Coach Dutchers’ squad struggled to crash the glass as a team against Michigan, something he is hoping to fix in a time crunch.

Reese and Miles: Reese Dixon-Waters and Miles Byrd were non-factors in the team’s loss Monday night.

Dixon-Waters shot 1-for-7 from the field and 1-for-6 from three. Byrd shot poorly as well, shooting 2-for-8 from the field and 1-for-3 from beyond the arc. Dixon-Waters and Byrd are the veterans on the roster who need to come through if the Aztecs are going to have a chance versus Oregon. Look to see Dutcher try and get his two veterans into an offensive rhythm early on in the game Tuesday night. If the Aztecs are going to be successful this year, Dixon-Waters and Byrd will be at the helm of that success.

Tuesday night’s game will be on the HBO Max app as well as TruTV at 8:00 PM.

Bryant Thursby

Assistant Coach at Heritage High School. A big time SDSU fanatic and Padres fan.