Busting Brackets
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Mountain West Basketball: 2019-20 takeaways from Thanksgiving week

By Jacob Salcido

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 25: JaQuan Lyle #5 of the New Mexico Lobos drives past Isaac Okoro #23 of the Auburn Tigers during the second half of their game at Barclays Center on November 25, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 25: JaQuan Lyle #5 of the New Mexico Lobos drives past Isaac Okoro #23 of the Auburn Tigers during the second half of their game at Barclays Center on November 25, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) /
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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – NOVEMBER 28: Matt Mitchell #11 and KJ Feagin #10 of the San Diego State Aztecs gesture to fans as they celebrate their 83-52 victory over the Creighton Bluejays during the 2019 Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational basketball tournament at the Orleans Arena on November 28, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – NOVEMBER 28: Matt Mitchell #11 and KJ Feagin #10 of the San Diego State Aztecs gesture to fans as they celebrate their 83-52 victory over the Creighton Bluejays during the 2019 Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational basketball tournament at the Orleans Arena on November 28, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

Aztecs surprise, take Las Vegas Invitational title

We all knew San Diego State had a decent squad. We knew they could compete against quality competition. However, no one saw their run in the Las Vegas Invitational coming. In what was reminiscent of the Steve Fisher era, Malachi Flynn led the Aztecs with monster performances. Flynn had 21 points in the dismantling of Creighton, then helped complete a comeback against a talented Iowa team, dropping 28 points, all of which were in the second half alone.

Meanwhile, the rest of the rotation looked great: Jordan Schakel’s sharpshooting ability caught fans’ attention. Vanderbilt grad transfer Yanni Wetzell impressed and proved to be a problem for opponents in the paint. Matt Mitchell has been coming off the bench this season, but is still seeing big minutes in the rotation – Mitchell scored in double digits against both Creighton and Iowa (16 and 11 points, respectively), and Santa Clara transfer KJ Feagin showed great decision-making, having 10 assists over the two games, while remaining a scoring threat.

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This San Diego State team has confidence, resilience, and chemistry. They are rolling – Not to mention the defense, always an important trait of the Aztecs, looks solid: Keep in mind, SDSU was trailing Iowa by 16 at one point, and Creighton was held to only 52 points in a blowout loss. The Mountain West, if not the country, was put on notice of the potential of this Aztecs team moving forward. Are the Aztecs ‘back’? Time will tell.