Preview: Aztecs face packed house, lively Lobos Saturday morning in Albuquerque (original) (raw)

SDSU at New Mexico

When: 10 a.m. PST Saturday

Where: The Pit, Albuquerque, N.M.

On the air: CBS; 760-AM

Records: SDSU is 10-3 (3-1); New Mexico is 13-3 (5-0)

Series history: New Mexico leads 51-45 and has won three of the last five, including 68-61 in the Mountain West tournament final last March in Las Vegas after the teams split their regular-season meetings.

Aztecs update: This is their third straight Saturday game on national network TV, following Utah State on Fox on Dec. 28 and Boise State on CBS last weekend. The schedule lightens after this, with seven of the next eight games are against teams not picked in the top four in the Mountain West preseason poll. Backup forwards Miles Heide and Demarshay Johnson Jr. both missed Wednesday’s 67-38 win against Air Force with the flu, but Heide returned to practice Thursday and both players are on the trip. Another forward off the bench, freshman Pharaoh Compton, played Wednesday after missing a week with a sprained ankle, finishing with four points and three rebounds in 17 minutes. “I think it (still) bothers him to a degree,” coach Brian Dutcher said. “He had a pretty good sprain but he gutted through it. Now we have to get his game timing back.” Opponents are shooting just 35.5%, the third lowest in the nation. Air Force had just two baskets in the second half and twice had 10-minute droughts without one. The game tips at 10 a.m. PST but it’s not the first time this season SDSU has played so early. The opener in the Players Era Festival, a 71-53 win against Creighton, was also a morning tip. And over the semester break, practices have been at 11 a.m. SDSU climbed to 31 in the Kenpom and NET metrics, both season-bests.

Lobos update: They are tied with Utah State at 5-0 but rank fifth in the conference in the Kenpom metric at 67, behind SDSU, Utah State (41), Boise State (57) and Nevada (59). They have a marquee win against UCLA (72-64 on Nov. 8) but a bad loss against New Mexico State (89-83 on Dec. 7). Gone from last year’s team are Jaelen House, Jamal Mashburn Jr. and JT Toppin (who transferred to Texas Tech for reportedly $1 million plus in NIL). Three key pieces returned: guard Donovan Dent (19.3 points, 6.9 assists per game), forward Mustapha Amzil (13.7 points) and center Nelly Junior Joseph (13.1 points, 10.1 rebounds). “Dent and Joseph are as good a point guard-center combination as there is in the country,” Dutcher said. “Most good teams are really good up the middle, and they’re good up the middle. We have to do a good job dealing with the ball screens and find a way to slow (them) down.” The Lobos want to crank up the tempo, ranking fourth nationally in average possessions compared to 244th for SDSU. The game features the Mountain West’s top two shot-blocking teams. The Aztecs rank sixth nationally, the Lobos are 13th. The Pit is sold out, and fans are being asked to wear red or white depending on their seating section to create a “Stripe Out.”

Next up: Tuesday vs. Colorado State at Viejas Arena (8 p.m., CBSSN)

— MARK ZEIGLER

Originally Published: January 10, 2025 at 5:55 PM PST