San Diego State basketball: 19-20 keys to bounce back from their first loss

San Diego State Basketball: 2019-20 keys to bounce back vs Colorado State

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 22: Matt Mitchell #11 of the San Diego State Aztecs reacts after losing their first game of the season against the UNLV Runnin' Rebels at Viejas Arena on February 22, 2020 in San Diego, California. The Runnin' Rebels won the game 66-63. (Photo by Kent Horner/Getty Images) /

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BOISE, ID – FEBRUARY 16: Guard RayJ Dennis #10 of the Boise State Broncos attempts to split the defense of guard Malachi Flynn #22 and forward Yanni Wetzell #5 of the San Diego State Aztecs (Photo by Loren Orr/Getty Images) /

Defend The 3

It has been rare for San Diego State basketball to need to worry an opponent’s ability to shoot the 3 lately. Over the last month, Air Force is the only team they’ve faced who has been a real threat from behind the arc. In fact, Boise State is the only other team they’ve matched up with a team that wasn’t below average from 3.

That has led to them mostly needing to focus on defending the lane for the last month (as has been regularly reflected in these articles). Now, they’ll need to shift their focus back to their elite 3 point defense to keep Colorado State from becoming the second consecutive team to pull off an upset against them.

The Rams are shooting the country’s 27th best 3-point percentage this season at 36.9% and are getting nearly a 3rd of their points from behind the arc. That could be a problem for a San Diego State team that has allowed Boise State, Air Force, and Utah State to all shoot above 38% from 3 in recent games.

On the season, SDSU has been one of the best defenses in the country against the 3. They have held opponents to 28.8% from behind the arc, which is the 8th lowest percentage in the country.

For this game, they need to shift their focus toward once again becoming that team that shuts down opponents’ shooters. It will certainly force them to change from the way they have defended recently, but it will be very important for them to slow down a high scoring Rams offense.

If SDSU can take away Colorado State’s shooters, it should cause the offense to stagnate. Most of CSU’s offense comes from players who need to see their long-range shots drop to get into a rhythm. If SDSU neutralizes those players, then the Rams become the Nico Carvacho show and I don’t think he can make a big enough impact to take down the Aztecs as CSU’s main scorer.

Next. Bracketology Losers of the week. dark

If SDSU can make life difficult for Colorado State’s shooters then they should be able to bounce back from Saturday’s loss in a big way.