Oregon vs. SDSU

When: Wednesday, 1 p.m

Where: MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas

On air: Streaming on Max; 760 p.m

Series history: 3:3 draw. SDSU won their last meeting 80-68 in 1997 at Viejas Arena.

Duck update: They are 6-0 after overcoming a deficit of 10 and scoring the final 11 points of the game in an 80-70 win over No. 20 Texas A&M in the game immediately after SDSU-Creighton. They had four players score in double figures, led by Villanova transfer TJ Bamba with 18 (10 of 12 from the line). Torrey Pines High School graduate Brandon Angel, a transfer from Stanford who was considering SDSU, had 16 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Coach Dana Altman had 7-foot Nate Bittle and 6-foot-9 Kwame Evans (the cousin of former SDSU player Che Evans Jr.) return and then added figures around them from the portal. Bamba and Angel are two of seven transfers. The other wins are less impressive: UC Riverside, Montana, Portland, Troy and Oregon State. Oregon will test the Aztecs defensively, with pressure on the wings and a matchup zone that stunned their younger players when they faced one in the opener against UCSD. Texas A&M missed its last 11 shots and 17 of its last 19. The Ducks are No. 28 in the Kenpom metric and are expected to win by two against SDSU.

Aztec update: With a convincing 71-53 win over 21st-ranked Creighton, the Aztecs moved up 15 spots to 40th in Kenpom. That’s the second-best performance in the Mountain West behind Nevada at 34. In terms of defensive efficiency, the Bluejays are ranked No. 5, having held a shooting percentage of 33.9%. They are No. 1 nationally in block rate, having averaged 8.5 rejections per game. The big revelation of the season was sophomore guard BJ Davis, who scored a team-high 15.0 points per game on 62.2% shooting. “I just saw where I had advantages in certain spots and I took advantage of them,” Davis said after shooting 7 of 11 for a career-high 18 points on Tuesday. “I tried to chase my shot and stay ready.” He’s also averaging 4.5 rebounds per game and seven steals in four games. No one on the roster averages more than 5.0 rebounds per game, but six players average 3.8 or higher. In four previous non-conference events in Las Vegas, the Aztecs are 7-1 and have won the title three times.

Next: Saturday against No. 6 Houston, No. 9 Alabama, Rutgers or Notre Dame.

–MARK ZEIGLER

Originally published: November 26, 2024 at 6:28 pm PST