The Fresno State men’s basketball team welcomes No. 24 San Diego State into the Save Mart Center today, to open up Mountain West Conference play.
The Aztecs are a premiere program in college basketball, having made the NCAA tournament the last four seasons and 11 of the last 14 years. They also made the NCAA title game during the 2022-23 season.
They will be playing at Fresno State as a ranked team for the ninth time in program history. It is also the 15th time the Bulldogs will host a nationally-ranked team.
The Aztecs are 4-2 on the season, with losses to then No. 3 Gonzaga and unranked Oregon. They already have a pair of ranked wins though, defeating No. 21 Creighton and No. 6 Houston last week during the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas.
Despite a tough non-conference schedule, the Aztecs are allowing just 64.7 points per game (PPG).
Head Coach Vance Walberg lauded Aztecs Head Coach Brian Dutcher for his team’s efforts on stopping opposing teams from scoring.
“They have the culture to develop. They know defense wins,” Walberg said. “When you have that kind of a culture, what happens to the referees is that you get away with a little bit more too.”
The Bulldogs are 31-26 all-time at home against SDSU but winning has come hard as of late. Since 2019, the Aztecs have won ten-straight games against Fresno State.
Walberg emphasized that protecting the basketball and grabbing rebounds would be paramount if they want to compete with SDSU.
Key players to watch
The Aztecs have a trio of players scoring in double figures this season: BJ Davis, Nick Boyd and Miles Byrd. All three are threats to score from anywhere on the floor.
Davis in particular has been lights out from deep, shooting 50% from beyond the arc early in the season. Boyd leads the team with 3.33 assists per game.
Freshman seven-footer Magoon Gwath leads the NCAA with four blocks per game, for what is a very good Aztec defense. Offensively, he has the ability to score inside and out.
“He’s one of those types of players that, we’ll have to concede something,” Walberg said. “I would rather see him outside shooting threes than inside kicking us on the boards. So, it’s a give and take in how we play it.”
As a team, the Aztecs are shooting 38.5 percent from three. They’re also outplaying teams in transition and forcing turnovers at a high rate (12.3 per game).
The newest Bulldog star
Sophomore Zaon Collins is averaging 15 ppg, 5.2 rebounds per game and 3.4 assists per game. The former top recruit has found a new home with the Bulldogs. He says that Walberg’s play style allows him to be both a scorer and a facilitator.
“He gives us the ability to play freely, and we just go out there and we just have fun,” Collins said.
Walberg says that if they are going to be successful, he needs a little more though from his ‘top notch point guard.’
“He’s got to concentrate a little bit better, more on defense to help us,” Walberg said.
Despite being 6-foot-1, Collins has the speed and active hands to make an impact defensively like what Walberg is looking for.
Injury bug
Walberg announced that forward David Douglas Jr. would be out for four to six weeks with a knee injury that he suffered last week.
Forward Pierre Geneste Jr. is still out with a finger injury but is meeting with doctors on Thursday.
While known for using a press defense, Walberg has rarely used it this season due to injuries stacking up.
“When you look down at your paper and you go, I got two guys on the bench. One’s at 60%, one’s at 70% and then, the foul trouble is what really scares me,” Walberg said. “You need depth right now, I’m playing some guys way too many minutes as it is.”
Upcoming games
Tip-off for Wednesday’s game with the Aztecs is at 7:30 p.m. and will be broadcasted on Fox Sports 1.
The Bulldogs hit the road again this weekend, playing at Santa Clara on Saturday, Dec. 7.