Matt Weiner (@mattweiner20) – Basketball Beat Reporter
Fresno State’s “Red Wave” was more akin to a red puddle last Tuesday night at Provident Credit Union Event Center.
With no prior knowledge of the history between San Jose State and Fresno State, one would’ve thought this was a ho-hum non-conference matchup.
Au contraire.
The two schools are rivals and while they may be considered rivals, it’s foolish to call it a rivalry.
SJSU entered Tuesday night on an 11 game skid to Fresno State and have lost 15 of the last 17 matchups, by an average of 17 points.
“It’s hard to have a rivalry when you never beat your rival,” said SJSU head coach Tim Miles.
However, following SJSU’s (12-6, 3-2 MW) dominant, 74-64 victory over Fresno State Tuesday, the Spartans showed the days of being the Bulldogs chew toy could be ending, which may lead to a true, indisputable rivalry.
“Hopefully this can kickstart and spice up the Fresno State San Jose State men’s basketball matchup,” said Miles following the win.
Plus, there are a couple of the necessary ingredients to cook up electric and contentious games twice a year.
The Las Vegas catalyst
The first seed was planted 10 months ago in the Mountain West tournament when SJSU nearly bounced Fresno State in the first round. The Spartans lost on a buzzer-beater in overtime, but it showed that SJSU wasn’t always going to be dog walked by Fresno State or other opponents.
“They ended our season last year basically. It was a heartbreaking loss for us,” said SJSU co-captain Alvaro Cardenas, who scored a career- high 20 points Tuesday. “It was overtime, we had the game won and we couldn’t finish the game. It was definitely in our heads.”
Then came Miles’ infamous declaration following the game:
Thus far, Miles did not protest too much, methinks.
Leading into Tuesday’s game, “Alvaro Cardenas actually said these are the guys that ended our season last year and that’s the way they looked at it,” said Miles. “I didn’t make a big deal about it as a coach, but it was a big deal to the guys.”
Before the game, Cardenas mentioned last year’s unfinished business from was “for sure” a motivation.
Sultan of rebounds
But this year, there’s a new element that adds fuel to the fire:
The heavy-stepping, sultan of rebounds, transferred to SJSU this past off-season after committing to Fresno State out of Archbishop Riordan High School in San Francisco in 2021.
He’s found a home in the South Bay, and particularly the restricted area, hauling down the 10th most boards per game in the conference (5.9) and a key reason to the Spartans ranking fifth nationwide in rebound margin at +9.
“It was really important for him to come out and win this game and show the people on that side what he can do and stuff like that so I’m really happy for him,” said star guard Omari Moore. “He played well today.”
In just 19 minutes, Vaihola finished with a floor-leading plus minus of 17, hauled down seven rebounds and scored 12 points on 6-for-7 shooting.
“I think with the way things ended at Fresno this was big for Rob,” said Moore. “He talked to us before the game. We’ve been talking to him all week coming into this game, leading up to this game, wanting to get back for how things ended for him and how things ended for us last year.”
Like Babe Ruth leaving Beantown to play for the Bronx Bombers, regional player departure is valuable for building up a rivalry. Especially when said player is a difference-maker with a flare for theatrics.
With SJSU leading 38-32 at the top of the second half, Fresno State center Isaih Moore launched an uncontested three-pointer from the top of the key. Unfortunately for Moore, he missed … everything.
While fans rained dragged out “airball” chants, Vaihola from SJSU’s bench put two hands in front of his face as if he needed to shield himself from the wide miss.
On the ensuing possession, Sage Tolbert threw down an alley-oop from Cardenas, lighting Vaihola up once again. He boisterously stomped and roared to high heaven.
Although Vaihola’s not one to be mute and apathetic on the bench, it’s clear that this game meant more to him.
“His energy is infectious for sure so he definitely helped us out today and we’re glad we could get that win for him,” said Moore.
Vaihola’s journey from the Central Valley to Silicon Valley has been successful thus far. SJSU was a glutton for punishment in the paint last year, finishing second-worst in the rebound margin (-5.1) and routinely outscored in the paint by double-digits.
Don’t call it a rivalry just yet
And while it’s a start, it’s also just been one game.
Fresno State’s Moore, who was shutout in the second half and scored just four points, could bounce back when both teams meet again in Fresno on Feb. 7. He’s the second leading scorer on the Bulldogs, averaging 12.1 points per game.
The Spartans are also far from perfect, made abundantly clear in their 27-point blowout loss at home to Nevada just a few days before.
However, Fresno State has regressed from the 23-win team they were a year ago and team of years past who’s three largest Mountain West defeats have all come against SJSU. One of which occurred last year.
“Beating them definitely feels good,” said Moore.
With SJSU playing both watchable and winning basketball, plus the Vaihola variable, a rivalry is beginning to grow limbs and climb its way to relevancy.