San Diego State faces Cal Baptist in its final game before the holiday break – San Diego Union-Tribune

No. 23 Aztecs vs. Cal Baptist

When: Wednesday, 7 p.m

Where: Viejas Arena

On air: YurView (streaming on Mountain West Network); 760 p.m

Records: SDSU is 6-2; CBU is 5-4

Series history: First meeting.

Aztec update: The third in a three-game series in which they are double-digit favorites after being underdogs four straight times. The Kenpom metric predicts a 76-60 win. They then receive a 10-day break from school-mandated games for final exams and a short Christmas break. They play just once before Dec. 28, when they resume the remaining 19 games of the Mountain West schedule. Taj DeGourville was hit in the nose during practice on Monday and is wearing a clear mask out of what coach Brian Dutcher called a “precautionary measure.” Fellow freshman Magoon Gwath had momentarily slipped to second nationally in blocks per game behind Arizona State’s Jayden Quaintance, but a review of film from the Fresno State game gave him two more blocks – reaching 29 in eight games and increasing his average to 3.63 per game and put him back in first. SDSU as a team is still No. 1 nationally with an average of 7.5. Pharaoh Compton was named the Mountain West Freshman of the Week for the second time after averaging 10.5 points and 4.5 rebounds on 76.9% shooting (10 of 13). SDSU climbed one spot to No. 23 in the AP poll, appearing on about two-thirds of the ballots. Two voters have her in 12th place and eight have her in the top 15.

Lancers update: Since leaving Division II, they have hit over .500 in five of six years (and failed to finish at 16-17 last season). The only thing they haven’t done is beat a ranked Division I team. They already have one win against a Mountain West school, defeating Fresno State 86-81 in double OT on Nov. 27 in Palm Springs. The other wins came against Incarnate Word, Kennesaw State (which beat Rutgers), Long Island and Eastern Washington. The losses are to UC Riverside (70-69), Northern Colorado, SMU (79-77) and Central Florida. Rick Croy is in his 12th season leading the Lancers from a successful Division II program to Division I. Three key rotation players return from last season, most notably 5-foot-10 senior guard Dominique Daniels Jr., which is ranked 12th nationally. He scored 21.7 points per game. In the last game, a Dec. 1 loss at UCF, he scored a season-high 33. Joining him were transfers AJ Braun of Wright State (No. 1 nationally in field goal percentage last season) and Javonte Johnson, who is well-known at SDSU , having played at New Mexico and Colorado State. They take good care of the ball, rank 24th nationally in turnover rate (14%) and average under 10 per game. CBU is in Riverside but only has two California players on the roster. In Kenpom it is 176, better than Fresno State and USD.

Next: Dec. 21 vs. Cal at San Jose (7:30 p.m., ACC Network)

– MARK ZEIGLER

Originally published: December 10, 2024 at 5:17 pm PST