Aztecs return home after Christmas Break to host Utah State for the conference home opener

The San Diego State Aztecs are now in conference play.

Head coach Brian Dutcher and his team finished the non-conference slate with a 7-2 record and owns a lone conference win over Fresno State on the road early in December. They are winners of five in a row.

At 8-2 overall, the Aztecs are No. 20 in the AP Poll ahead of their matchup with 11-1 Utah State. SDSU sits 42nd in NET. Utah State is 29th.

The Aggies started the season strong yet again. Despite losing 2023 Mountain West Coach of the Year, Danny Sprinkle, and 2023 Mountain West Player of the Year, Great Osobor, to Washington, the Aggies found a way to begin the season 10-0 before losing to UC San Diego in Logan.

Last season, the Aggies lost a game early to Bradey and bounced back by winning 16 straight games and eventually the conference’s regular season title.

Utah State is once again a threat in the Mountain West. This game can be seen on FOX at 3:00 pm PT.

Getting to Know the Opponent: Utah State

This year’s team is coached by Jerrod Calhoun. He coached the last seven seasons at Youngstown State, where he logged a record of 118-106 overall. Calhoun recently led his team to consecutive 20-win seasons for the first time in their Division I history.

Just as Sprinkle did in 2023, Calhoun dominated the non-conference slate and is 2-0 against Quad 1 opponents (Saint Mary’s & Iowa). The Aggies bounced back from their loss to UCSD and defeated Saint Mary’s on the road, 75-68.

Calhoun’s team is well-rounded. They can score and defend at a high level. The Aggies are one of the top offensive teams in the country. They are 25th in the nation in scoring at 85.3 points per game and are tied for 38th in field goal percentage at 49.0%. Furthermore, they are 12th in assists per game at 18.4. Defending this team will be a tough task.

The Aggies are 20th in the country in steals per game at 9.8 as well. They contain four players who average north of a steal per game, and Mason Falslev leads the team (just as he does in scoring and rebounding) with 2.2 per game.

Utah State allows 65.7 points per contest, averages 38.9 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks per game. They have five wins this season by eight or fewer points, with three of them being five points or fewer.

Player to Watch: Mason Falslev

Falslev is emerging as one of the top players in the conference. The redshirt sophomore is averaging 17.3 points per game, which leads the team. He also leads the team in rebounds at 6.5. The guard is just 6-foot-3, yet out-rebounds his teammates, who are starting centers Aubin Gateretse and Isaac Johnson.

This shows how valuable Falslev is to the Aggies. He started every single game last year on a very stacked roster. He, Johnson, and Ian Martinez are the three returning starters for this squad. Karson Templin returns off the bench.

Falslev almost reached a triple-double in the contest against South Florida on December 14. He scored 27 points and grabbed nine rebounds with nine assists. In the win over Saint Mary’s, he scored 18 points on 72.7% shooting.

In the lone loss of the season, Falslev scored 16 points (below his average) and shot just 36.4% from the field. The Tritons defended him well, and the Aztecs will be guarding him tight on Saturday evening to contain his explosive offense.

Falslev scored 28 against North Texas earlier in the season for his season high. He has reached 25+ in four games.

The matchup of Falslev vs. Miles Byrd will be fun to watch. Byrd has the experience defending him on three occasions last season.

Defense ➡️ offense
📺: @accnetwork pic.twitter.com/iVlyDUAP8m

— San Diego State Men’s Basketball (@Aztec_MBB) December 22, 2024

Key to Victory

The Aggies are very good at setting themselves up for success on offense.

They dish out more assists than anyone in the conference, with Drake Allen leading the way at 3.7 per game. Martinez is second at 3.4 per contest, and Falslev is right behind him, dishing out 3.3. Lastly, Jordy Barnes averages 3.1 assists off the bench. Between those four, they average almost 14 assists each time they step on the court. If the Aztecs can contain those four from finding open looks then SDSU will see a lot of success on the defensive end.

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.