Aztecs vs. Point Loma Nazarene
When: 7 p.m. Monday
Records: SDSU 5-1, PLNU 4-2
Series history: SDSU leads 9-5, but all those Point Loma Nazarene victories came in the 1950s and ’60s, when it was Pasadena Nazarene. The Aztecs have won both official meetings in their Div. I era, 88-77 in 2005 and 76-49 in 2012.
Aztecs update: San Diego State remains out of the Top 25 after being No. 17 in the AP preseason poll and dropping out following the loss at BYU. The Aztecs’ four wins since, the last two in overtime on neutral floors against Pac-12 opponents, have them up to 21st in the Kenpom.com metric. Depth remains an issue, and fatigue from heavy minutes may be an explanation for their late-game foibles — blowing 12-point leads in each of their last two and needing overtime to win. Three players average 30-plus minutes, and two others are in the upper 20s. Jaedon LeDee’s scoring average dropped to 25.5 after a 19-point performance in Saturday’s 76-67 OT win against Cal, but the 6-9 senior still leads Division I by a half-point over Hofstra guard Tyler Thomas. Reese Waters had 24 points and seven rebounds against Cal, both career highs, and was named the event’s MVP. The Aztecs have attempted 78 free throws in their last two games, their most in a two-game stretch since the 2000s. They made 79.5 percent of them.
Sea Lions update: Tuesday’s game is an even tougher turnaround for them, playing Friday and Saturday in Nampa, Idaho, before traveling home Sunday. But when you’re a Division II program and you get a chance to play across town in a 12,414-seat arena against a team that reached the Division I championship game, you take it, no matter the inconvenience. The Sea Lions won both games in Idaho in dramatic fashion, getting a double-clutch 3 from Zack Paulsen to force overtime and prevailing 79-75 against Central Washington, then beating host Northwest Nazarene 73-70 the following night. Justin Downer replaced Matt Logie as coach after Logie left for Division I Montana State. Four of the top five scorers from last season’s 29-4 team are gone, including Division II All-American Kaden Anderson; and St. Augustine alum Luke Haupt, the top returnee, is out another month after knee surgery. Jake Lifgren, a 6-1 guard from Peoria, Ariz., averages 20.2 points per game. Paulsen (13.8) and 6-8 freshman Zack Smith (10.2) are in double figures as well. The roster includes local products Jaden Matingou (Saints) and Nick Carlson (Helix).
Next up: at UCSD on Friday (7 p.m., ESPN+)
