No. 25 Aztecs at Grand Canyon
When: 6 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Global Credit Union Arena, Phoenix
Line: Aztecs by 3
On the air: ESPNU; 760-AM
Records: SDSU is 7-1, GCU is 6-1
Series history: Grand Canyon leads 3-1, including the lone game played in Phoenix, a 76-72 GCU win in 2016. SDSU won the most recent meeting, 86-61 in 2019 at Viejas Arena.
Aztecs update: The Aztecs return to the Associated Press rankings after a three-week hiatus, landing at No. 25 after receiving 168 voting points (20 more than Virginia, which upset No. 14 Texas A&M). SDSU appeared on 31 of 63 ballots and as high as No. 12. The NCAA’s NET metric was released for the first time this season on Monday morning, and the Aztecs were No. 24 — third in the Mountain West behind Colorado State (7) and Nevada (21). The Aztecs have slid to 26th in the Kenpom metric after being as high as No. 15. They are healthier after essentially playing Friday’s 63-62 win at UCSD with five starters and true freshman Miles Heide, which prevented them from pressing full-court. Reese Waters and Jay Pal have recovered enough from bouts with the flu to practice this week. Also back at practice for the first time in nearly two weeks was Miles Byrd, who did not suit up Friday with his recurring hip issue. “It felt like we’re accomplishing more in practice,” coach Brian Dutcher said. “We were just getting through practice leading up to UCSD because we didn’t have enough healthy bodies and we didn’t want to bang ourselves up physically. Now that we have bodies back, we can practice harder and get more done.”
Antelopes update: The 6-1 start equals their best after seven games since going Division I in 2013-14. The lone loss was 75-68 against South Carolina in a neutral-site game in nearby Glendale, Ariz. Other than a 76-72 win against USF, also on a neutral floor near campus, none of their wins is against anybody in the Kenpom top 150. They’ve left the state only once, a 79-69 win at Rio Grande Valley (310 in Kenpom). The Antelopes play an aggressive, attacking style that gets them to the free throw line more than anyone else in Division I (30.2 per game). They have outrebounded all seven opponents and rank 25th nationally in rebound margin at plus-9.1, an area where SDSU has struggled this season. They have good size, starting 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 6-7 and 6-10. The bench includes transfers from Oregon, Arizona State, Louisville and UNLV. Senior guard Jovan Blacksher Jr. is the only player from either team around from the 2019 meeting at Viejas Arena. The Antelopes have reached the NCAA Tournament twice in coach Bryce Drew’s first three years, most recently last season after winning the WAC Tournament. They were picked to win the WAC again in the preseason coaches poll.
Next up: home vs. UC Irvine on Saturday (7:30 p.m., FS1).
