If you wandered past the JAM Center at San Diego State the past two afternoons, you might have heard more than sneakers squeaking.
Or put another way: The SDSU men’s basketball team had some spirited practices.
“We’ve gone hard for two days,” coach Brian Dutcher said. “I mean, we’re not saving legs. We’re trying to get better. We challenged them. We’re (mad). We set the tone. We’re trying to get better. We know what we need to get better at, and we need to be a better defensive team.”
Those are words rarely uttered in a program that ranked second and fourth nationally in defensive efficiency for the previous two seasons.
But when you let a team score on six straight possessions and 13 of the 17 in the second half, as the Aztecs did Tuesday in the second half of a 79-73 loss at Grand Canyon, that’ll get your attention.
There were some offensive drills on Thursday and Friday as the No. 25 Aztecs, enjoying their final few days of being ranked until they are almost certainly dropped Monday, prepared for a 7:40 p.m. tip Saturday against UC Irvine at Viejas Arena. But maybe 80 percent of practice was devoted to D, to the supposed bedrock of this program.
“A lot of it is just getting back to our fundamentals, because if you’re not fundamentally sound defensively, it doesn’t matter what you do,” Dutcher said. “We’re trying to challenge them defensively. We have to get better defensively.”
Added guard Reese Waters: “I think it’s more of a focus thing than us not being able to do it. We’ve shown spurts in games of shutting teams down for six, seven straight possessions. We can do it. It’s more, as a team, buying in and communicating and being on the same page.”
So that’s one big issue when they take the floor against the Anteaters.
The other: Whether Jaedon LeDee, who single-handedly is responsible for 29 percent of their points and 27 percent of their rebounds and 34 percent of their free throws, takes the floor at all.
The double-double machine sprained his right elbow in the second half Tuesday, spent the last two practices exclusively on the exercycle and is considered questionable for UC Irvine.
“It hurts, it hurts to move,” Dutcher said. “It’s a like an ankle sprain but on the elbow.”
Asked what he’ll do if LeDee can’t go, Dutcher replied: “That’ll be interesting.”
One option is to insert 5-foot-10 Darrion Trammell into the starting lineup and go small, with 6-8 Elijah Saunders as a de facto center. Another is to start 6-10 freshman Miles Heide at the 5 and leave everyone else as is.
Either way, it depletes an already depleted (and largely unproductive) bench that has meant heavy minutes for the starters. And the heavy minutes, logic suggests, are contributing to tired legs and minds — and ultimately defensive lapses — in the second half.
The Aztecs are ranked 28th nationally in defensive efficiency, but that number is steadily decreasing as opponents find increasing offensive joy as games wears on.
BYU shot 68 percent over the final 16 minutes. Long Beach State shot 58 percent in the second half. Washington and Cal both erased 12-point deficits in the closing minutes to force overtime. UCSD went on an 18-4 run midway through the second half and led by 14. Grand Canyon shot 67 percent over the final 18 minutes and led by 13.
And now they’re facing a team that last year nearly won at Viejas Arena (and didn’t thanks to a Micah Parrish corner 3 with 2.4 seconds left) and this year won 70-60 at USC.
Said Waters, who played for the Trojans last year: “The fact they went in and won the way they won is pretty impressive.”
With his ears still ringing Tuesday night, Dutcher was asked about playing in one of college basketball’s loudest road venues.
“I think if we play this at Viejas and it’s close game,” he said, “maybe we come out on the other end.”
He gets to find out, in a sense. Metrically speaking, UC Irvine is almost the same team as Grand Canyon — both in the low 70s in Kenpom.com ratings, both from low-major conferences, both with a win this season over a ranked opponent.
And it’s not like the Anteaters will be intimidated by Viejas Arena, committing 16 turnovers here a year ago and still being in a one-possession game.
“They had us beat last year until we hit a 3,” Dutcher said. “And that was at our place. The way they played against us, we were fortunate to win. If we’re not at home, I don’t think we win that game. Home court is a big advantage. It can’t be the only reason you win, but it definitely is a help.”
It’s another of those can’t-lose home games against a capable opponent that SDSU’s nonconference schedule seems to be filled with this season. Dec. 21 against Stanford falls into that category as well: a dangerous game you’re expected to win to build a sufficient NCAA Tournament resume. The Cardinal are 4-4 and No. 92 in Kenpom and picked to finish in the lower half of the Pac-12 but, like Washington and Cal, has a veteran roster plenty talented enough to pull the upset.
The hope: Win those two, plus a Dec. 19 home game against NAIA Saint Katherine, to get to 10-2 entering the Dec. 29 showdown at Gonzaga.
With just two games in 19 days, there are long stretches of practice time before then.
Plenty of time to improve. Plenty of time for more defensive drills.
