Michigan embarrasses San Diego State in Las Vegas as the Aztecs suffer the worst loss of Brian Dutcher’s era.

The San Diego State Aztecs faced off against the University of Michigan late Monday night in Las Vegas in the lucrative Players Era Championship.

The Aztecs entered the tournament led by star junior forward Miles Byrd, and the Wolverines were led by star transfer from UAB, Yaxel Lendeborg.

Coach Brian Dutcher recruited the Fab Five to a National Championship at Michigan and has a great history with the school. This was a massive contest with high expectations and a lot of emotions for both sides.

However, the Aztecs seemingly were not prepared for the size and physicality of the Wolverine as Michigan won 94-54.

“When you are bad, you are bad from top down, and I’m the top,” Dutcher said postgame. “I did not have us ready to compete at that level versus a very good team. I told the team it’s not the time to think about Michigan, but put it behind us and get ready for Oregon tomorrow.”

Michigan dominated the Aztecs with Lendeborg leading the charge, putting up 15 points, six rebounds, and four assists. Despite a pitiful performance from the Aztecs, freshman Elzie Harrington looked like a star versus Michigan, putting up 15 points, a new career-high for the young star.

When asked about his performance, Elzie had this to say. “As crazy as it sounds, I was focused on trying to win tonight. I wasn’t happy with how I played the first two games, even though people told me I was playing. I was just trying to win.”

Michigan came out firing in the opening five minutes of game time, making five of their first nine attempts from the field. Both stars, Byrd and Lendeborg, started with five quick points for their respective squads out of the gate.

By the eight-minute TV timeout, Michigan’s lead doubled San Diego State’s point total.

SDSU was playing uncharacteristic basketball. Freshman Tae Simmons, who got only five minutes of playing time against Troy, earned some first-half minutes to try and bring a spark to the disarrayed Aztecs.

The Aztecs got a spark, offensively at least, from Harrington to end the first half. The true freshman from Long Beach put up nine points in the half. BJ Davis also joined the mix with eight points. At the half, the Aztecs were down 45-33, getting outrebounded 25-17.

San Diego State played an uncharacteristically bad first half defensively, and the Wolverines had made six-of-12 free throws.

SDSU needed to come out of the locker room with a different intensity than they had in the first half to flip this game on its head.

The team did not respond well to Dutcher coming out of the half. By the 12-minute mark in the second half, the Wolverines were up 26.

They were dominating the Aztecs in every facet of the game. The game got out of control quickly. SDSU could not keep up with the pace and got ran out of the gym. It was really an embarrassing outing in what was supposed to be a fun night for Dutcher and his team.

The lone positive for the Aztecs coming out of this game is the freshman Harrington. San Diego State looked like a team that was still learning how to play together and trust one another. Unfortunately for the Aztecs, they need to grow up fast. If the Aztecs are going to come out of the Players Era Tournament with at least a win, Reese Dixon-Waters and Byrd need to step it up.

Byrd had this to say about the team’s poor performance and moving on to tomorrow’s matchup versus Oregon. “Once we get back to the hotel, just drop this one mentally and be ready for the next one. You drop two already, and you try to do everything in your power so that the third game isn’t affected by the last two that you played.”

The two veterans on the roster were a team worst, -30 and -25, while on the court. Dixon-Waters shot 1-for-7, while Byrd shot 2-for-8.

“They gotta fight their way out of it,” Dutcher said about Dixon-Waters and Byrd. “I tell them hard work is always rewarded. Over the course of the season, if you continue to work hard, you will be rewarded.”

Oregon is next. The Aztecs need to win this game to avoid falling to 2-3.

Bryant Thursby

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