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San Diego State Basketball: Keys to victory over Creighton in Round of 64

By Jacob Salcido

Jan 8, 2022; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego State Aztecs guard Lamont Butler (5) and forward Aguek Arop (33) celebrate after a play during the second half against the Colorado State Rams at Viejas Arena. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 8, 2022; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego State Aztecs guard Lamont Butler (5) and forward Aguek Arop (33) celebrate after a play during the second half against the Colorado State Rams at Viejas Arena. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports /
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Creighton’s Ryan Hawkins (Photo Credit: Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
Creighton’s Ryan Hawkins (Photo Credit: Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images) /

Slow down the Bluejays frontcourt

As mentioned earlier, the Bluejays are without starting guard Ryan Nembhard. Despite the gaping hole caused by his absence, Creighton has a number of notable playmakers. Senior forward Ryan Hawkins (pictured above) is averaging nearly fourteen points and eight rebounds per game. He is trailed closely by sophomore center Ryan Kalkbrenner, who averages thirteen points, seven rebounds, and two blocks a game.

Senior guard Alex O’Connell is a reliable scorer; and in Ryan Nembhard’s absence, freshman forward Arthur Kaluma has made the most of his entering the starting lineup, serving as yet another offensive threat for the Bluejays (Also of note: Kaluma is Aztec senior Adam Seiko‘s brother).

Now, San Diego State’s basketball program is built on defense, and this year proves no exception. SDSU holds opponents to fifty-seven points per game on average, and according to Sports Reference, this ranks second in the nation (behind only North Texas). Starting big man Nathan Mensah is a huge reason for the Aztecs’ defensive success this season, as he is nearing seventy blocks on the year. Lamont Butler also excels on the defensive side of the ball, as his knack for attentiveness and quick play has earned him nearly fifty steals on the season.

With this taken into account, the Aztecs will have to focus in on the trio of Hawkins, Kalkbrenner, and O’Connell. Forcing the Bluejays’ stars to battle for their points, or to look elsewhere for scoring works in favor of San Diego State’s extremely restrictive style of play. Creighton does hold a slight advantage over SDSU in terms of height, but the Aztecs counter this somewhat with experience.

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I’m not often confident in the art of projecting scores, and as such will abstain from the like here; However, I am fairly confident that this match-up will be an exciting effort of defense. The Aztecs hold the advantage in this regard, but the games are played for a reason. Either way, it’s sure to be madness.

~ Thank you kindly for taking the time to read. For more Mountain West content, feel free to follow me on Twitter, @LoboSauce_777. ~