ANOTHER AZTECS GAME PUT ON HOLD
Wyoming backs out of Wednesday’s tilt due to COVID issues
So much for the annual trip to Laradise.
Wyoming announced that it still doesn’t have enough available players and can’t host San Diego State on Wednesday at Laramie’s Arena-Auditorium, meaning the Aztecs have now had three of their first four scheduled conference opponents back out with COVID-19 issues.
The Mountain West allows teams that don’t have seven available players plus one coach to postpone a game without fear of forfeiting. If it can’t be rescheduled, it is classified as a no contest.
Coach Brian Dutcher indicated there’s an outside chance the Aztecs could play someone else midweek, but that seemed more and more remote as the day progressed. Their next game is Saturday night at New Mexico, which is not currently on pause even though head coach Richard Pitino watched their last game on TV because of COVID protocols.
Of course, that assumes SDSU (10-3, 2-0) is still playing by then.
The university ordered all players to undergo PCR testing before practice Monday, even if they showed no symptoms. Many programs across the country reportedly have stopped testing asymptomatic players.
Already, seniors Adam Seiko and Joshua Tomaic were in COVID protocols for Saturday’s 79-49 win against No. 20 Colorado State. SDSU also still is mandating a 10-day quarantine while the eight Mountain West teams outside California have reduced it to five, so any positive cases likely would be out for New Mexico and the Jan. 18 home game against UNLV.
“We’re not immune to it,” Dutcher said. “Hopefully we continue to stay healthy. If we’re healthy, then we’ll see what the Mountain West has in store for us . ... I think a lot has to do with how we progress through testing today.”
It will be Wyoming’s fourth straight missed
game. The Cowboys (11-2) were warming up two Saturdays ago to face visiting Boise State for their Mountain West opener when the Broncos announced they had players test positive that morning, got on their charter jet and flew home. A day later, the Cowboys went on pause themselves and scrapped road games at Nevada and Fresno State.
Other than cross-border rival Colorado State, SDSU was probably Wyoming’s biggest home game of the season. The Cowboys were blown out by the Aztecs twice last year during the regular season before nearly upsetting them in the Mountain West Tournament. Coach Jeff Linder regularly talks about emulating SDSU’s culture in building his.
In the Mountain West’s unbalanced schedule, this was their only scheduled regularseason meeting this year. It also was SDSU’s first trip to Laramie since January 2020.
“I think they wanted to play the game,” Dutcher said. “I think (Linder) thought it was an opportunity for them to build their résumé with a good team on their home floor. I know they’re not ducking us. COVID has really hurt their program right now. There’s no gaming here. They want to play us.”
Usually at this time of year, college basketball teams fall into the routine of playing twice and sometimes three times per week. The Aztecs have played only twice since Dec. 22.
“I’ve got one week between every game,” Dutcher joked Saturday. “I’m like a football coach.”
They went from Dec. 22 to Jan. 1 before playing UNLV after San Diego Christian canceled a Dec. 28 game. Then Fresno State opted out of a game at Viejas Arena last Wednesday and they went from Jan. 1 to Jan. 8 before playing again. And even then, Colorado State was a late replacement for Nevada after the Wolf Pack went on pause.
“Now we have three games to make up,” Dutcher said, “and there’s no guarantee we won’t have four or five when we get down the stretch. The conference has the difficult job of trying to manage all these schedules.
“I know one thing. Someone is going to be unhappy in the end. That’s just the nature of rescheduling games and getting things together.”
Later Monday, the Mountain West announced three rescheduled games: Wyoming at Nevada (from Jan. 4 to Jan. 17); Boise State at Utah State (from Jan. 4 to Jan. 20); and UNLV at Air Force (from Jan. 8 to Jan. 20).
The polls
The Aztecs appeared on several ballots in The Associated Press poll following the convincing win against Colorado State, landing eighth among others receiving votes — one spot behind … the team they just beat by 30. The Rams have 10 voting points, the Aztecs nine.
Seven voters still have the Rams on their top 25 ballot, five of them ahead of the Aztecs. Three people had SDSU at 24 and one at 25.
The Aztecs got even less love in the USA Today coaches poll, where voters are not required to make their ballots public. They got zero votes, including from the only Mountain West coach among the 32 with ballots: Colorado State’s Niko Medved.
“Just keep watching us play, keep watching the improvement,” senior Matt Bradley
said of the poll snub. “We haven’t reached our max potential. Our team is not as good as where we’re going to be in March . ... Whether we get recognition now or later, it’s all about coming into March and having that spot and making a run in the tournament.”
Player of the week
Bradley was named Mountain West player of the week after scorching Colorado State for 26 poins (10-of-17 shooting), seven rebounds and two steals. He’s the second straight Aztecs player so honored. Keshad Johnson got it last week.
“As easy as it is to say, ‘It’s still college basketball, he’s just with a different team,’ there’s a learning curve,” Dutcher said of the 6-foot-4 Cal transfer. “He’s learning how to be an Aztec. He’s guarding at a higher level. He’s asked to do different things at the defensive end. Now he’s getting comfortable offensively. His dribbles are going down but his production is going up.”