Cal Poly at No. 15 Aztecs
Records: Cal Poly 2-10; SDSU 12-0
Series history: SDSU leads 23-4, but this is only the third meeting since 1969 and the first since a 51-45 Aztecs win in 2010.
Mustangs update: This is statistically the worst Div. I opponent SDSU will face this season. Cal Poly is currently 334 in Kenpom, 16 spots worse than San Jose State and 32 spots worse than Wyoming — the only other 300-plus teams on the schedule. Opponents are shooting 38.3 percent on 3s, which ranks 341st out of 353 teams in Div. I. The Mustangs are 326th in scoring offense at 62.5 points (SDSU is averaging 77.0). Former Cal State Fullerton assistant John Smith is in his first season after Joe Callero was fired five years after leading the Mustangs to their first NCAA Tournament appearance. But they went 6-23 last season and were last in the Big West at 2-14. The only Div. I win is against Siena on Dec. 7. Cal Poly was also part of the Las Vegas Invitational and played Creighton, Iowa, Tennessee State and Long Island, but this game was scheduled independently from that event. Junior Ballard, a 6-3 sophomore guard, is the only player scoring in double figures (12.4 points).
Aztecs update: The hope is to play better than the last time they faced Cal Poly, when an SDSU team ranked 11th led only 16-15 at the half and was 0 of 18 on 3s. They also hope to play better than in their first game after Christmas over the previous three years, all losses. This is SDSU’S final nonconference game, and a win would mark only the fourth time in 99 years of men’s basketball that it has gone undefeated. The others: 1926-27 (4-0), 1930-31 (3-0) and 2010-11 (15-0). The other two remaining undefeated teams in Div. I don’t play until Sunday; Auburn hosts Lipscomb, and Liberty is at LSU in its most difficult game of the season. The Aztecs remain No. 1 in the NCAA’S NET metric and No. 1 in ESPN’S strength of record. They are sixth in both Sagarin and RPI, and continue to climb in Kenpom (18th now) as last season’s stats gradually drop off. Four SDSU players are averaging in double figures: Malachi Flynn (15.6), Yanni Wetzell (11.1), Matt Mitchell (11.1) and Jordan Schakel (10.5).
Next up: Fresno State, Wednesday at noon (Stadium web stream).