San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
SDSU TAKES CARE OF BOTTOM OF MW
Aztecs sweep Fresno, go 8-0 against worst teams in conference
Navigating the Mountain West basketball season involves trips into altitude, into different time zones, into snow and ice and wind, into the barren desert and the fertile Central Valley.
You must win your share against the conference’s best teams, but maybe the most perilous part, given the arduous travel and elevation, is not losing to teams you shouldn’t. Not stepping on a landmine. Not slipping on the ice.
Mission accomplished, then, for No. 25 San Diego State after a 75-57 win Saturday at Fresno State made it 8-0 against the bottom half of the Mountain West. Only a showdown next weekend against first-place Boise State at Viejas Arena remains on the regular-season schedule, and the latest indication from conference sources is that the Aztecs won't have to make up their road series at seventh-place UNLV.
Good wins are a key component of a solid NCAA Tournament résumé. Equally important is the dearth of bad losses, and the Aztecs (17-4, 11-3) have none outside the top 60 of the NCAA'S NET metric.
Easier said than done with a collection of 20-yearolds.
“I think everyone on this team, especially the more veteran guys, we knew every game after Utah State was a must-win,” said senior Jordan Schakel, referring to back-to-back losses in midjanuary that buried the Aztecs in fifth place at 3-3. “Everyone just knew we had to go on a run like this.”
Now a sweep against Boise State likely gets them a share of the regular-season title, depending on makeup games. Even a split appears to be enough for an at-large NCAA Tournament berth based on their current metrics.
SDSU entered the game at 26th in the NET and figures to climb when new ratings are released this morning. Kenpom.com adjusted Saturday night, and the Aztecs leaped to a seasonbest 18th.
“I told them before the game that we're wired the right way, we're wired hard,” coach Brian Dutcher said. “It's not easy winning on the road, but we're wired because of the way we practice, because of the way we prepare for these moments. I said when we started against these (bottom) teams, we are going to be 10-0. We're 8-0 and we missed the New Mexico series.”
This was the fifth series sweep this season, and the previous four were all closer in the second game than the first. Not this one. The Aztecs never trailed and pushed the margin to 23 midway through the second half, ultimately winning by four more points than Thursday's 67-53 decision at Save Mart Center. The 18-point margin was SDSU'S largest at Fresno State since 1947.
That makes it eight straight overall wins and 15 straight against teams from the state of California, the longest active streak (two more than USC). Fresno State (9-9, 8-10), meanwhile, lost against an Associated Press Top 25 opponent for the 28th consecutive time.
The Aztecs didn't get a career-high 18 points from Trey Pulliam again (he had eight on 2-of-8 shooting), but they didn't need them. Only six other players scored
Thursday; by the middle of the second half, 10 had Saturday. And they shot a season-best 61 percent.
Schakel came close to his first career double-double, finishing with 14 points and eight rebounds after not missing a shot (5 of 5 overall, 4 of 4 behind the arc). Which is wild, considering in eight previous games against Fresno State, he had scored 22 total points and was 2 of 19 on 3s.
“I knew we were going to be able to score whenever we wanted to,” said Terrell Gomez, who was 3 of 3 behind the arc and had 13 points. “We just had to move the ball the right way.”
The Aztecs had made only three, three and five 3s in their previous three games against the Bulldogs' nohelp, don't-leave-the-shooters defensive scheme. They had six by halftime and finished 8 of 12.
The adjustment was filling the wings in transition and then finding them. It's one thing to Velcro on shooters in the halfcourt. It's another to locate your defensive assignment while sprinting down court after a turnover or missed shot.
“Our transition defense was horrendous,” said Fresno State coach Justin Huston, who was SDSU'S de facto defensive coordinator in two stints as an assistant coach. “... When we missed open looks, I think we got a little discouraged. And if you get discouraged, they came down and moved the ball and got a lot of 3s in transition.
“And give them credit: They nailed them.”
The Aztecs surrendered a 10-0 spurt midway through the half that allowed Fresno State back in the game after it trailed by 13. Dutcher had seen enough and called timeout with 3:23 left instead of waiting for the “free” media timeout coming at the next whistle.
He motioned down the bench to Aguek Arop, his most versatile and energetic player who sat out Thursday when his vertigo flared up. Arop made an immediate impact, drawing a foul 20 seconds later on an aggressive drive to get the Aztecs in the bonus and making both free throws.
Ninety seconds later, he coaxed a turnover by wildly defending an inbounds pass with his 7-foot-1 wingspan. Mitchell intercepted it near midcourt, starting a fast break that ended with a Schakel 3 in the opposite corner. By halftime, the lead was back to double digits at 3626.
“That's the hard thing with vertigo, you know?” Dutcher said. “We won't know until the day of. He may practice two days and not feel good, miss a day, and then come back and be ready for the game, or he may feel good for a few days and miss the game. We're hoping that we have AG (against Boise State). We're a much better team with him on the floor for the energy, intelligence and effort that he brings to us.”