NCAA Basketball: Texas, Virginia soar on top 25 ranking ahead of Thanksgiving
By Joey Loose
17. San Diego State (3-0)
Defensive prowess in recent years at San Diego State has carried this Aztecs program to unseen heights. They’ve been the best program in the MWC over the last few decades, winning a plethora of games and conference titles along the way. This year’s team might just be special, though it remains to be seen if they can be as special as that 2020 team that got off to a hot start with more than two dozen wins to start the year.
After scoring a very solid win over BYU last week, San Diego State got an even more impressive win this week, heading to Stanford and coming away with a 74-62 victory over the Cardinal. The defense had their best effort of the year while Jaedon LeDee led the Aztecs with 14 points off the bench. A balanced offensive attack saw them make 51% of their field goals, with 11-point efforts from Lamont Butler and Keshad Johnson, as the Aztecs survived and thrived in a Pac-12 road environment.
Three seasons ago, San Diego State started the year 26-0 and looked like one of the nation’s best teams. We’ll likely spend all season comparing these Aztecs to those, but this year’s road to that long unbeaten mark is much more difficult. Next week, the Aztecs head west for the Maui Invitational, with an opening-round matchup against a tough Ohio State team before two more challenging games. It’s bizarre to say but San Diego State absolutely can win this tournament, but how devastating would a loss or two be to their young season, especially if against Top 25 opponents?