Matt Weiner (@mattweiner20) – Basketball Beat Reporter
Photo courtesy of Jake Barger of SJSU Athletics
On Tuesday Jan. 23 the Spartans were reminded of how far they’ve come, blowing Air Force out by 30 points en route to clinching its first 13-8 start since 1985.
Unfortunately, college basketball is fickle.
The following Saturday, Viejas Arena and its 12,414 crazed inhabitants reminded SJSU (13-9, 4-5 MW) just how far they have to go.
“I asked the guys, ‘What did you feel? What did you feel?’ And everybody felt rushed like they couldn’t win their spots and then got hesitant,” said SJSU head coach Tim Miles following the Spartans 72-51 loss.
It was vintage Viejas.
First the Aztecs got a couple stops and all the sudden SJSU’s offense was rendered defenseless and scrambling their way out of an inescapable death trap.
SDSU (17-4, 8-1) is now 52-5 down in the Mecca of the Mountain West over the past four seasons and has allowed the eighth-least amount of points per home game nationwide this season.
By the time SDSU head coach Brian Dutcher took out four of his five starters at the 14:22 mark in the second half, the Spartans were down 46-26 and catching their breath after SDSU put their offense in a 15-minute long stranglehold.
SJSU missed 16-straight field goals between Omari Moore’s layup at the 10:32 mark in the first half, which narrowed the deficit to 16-13, and Trey Anderson’s three-pointer at the 16:46 mark of the second half.
Anderson’s three made the game 40-19, but was quickly followed up by a three from SDSU’s Darrion Trammell and a Matt Bradley bucket to give the Aztecs their largest lead of the game, 46-19.
“Credit San Diego State’s defensive intensity. I thought it got us worked up and got us really tentative and that’s what their M.O. is,” said Miles.
Dutcher’s formula was simple; make sure Spartans’ leading scorer Moore had zero breathing room on drives, keep their foot on SJSU’s neck at the top of the key and send full-court presses after each basket the Aztecs scored.
SDSU’s Keshad Johnson, Lamont Butler, Nathan Mensah and Matt Bradley put on a masterclass of how unrelenting pressure can render an offense hesitant and discombobulated.
In the first half, SJSU turned the ball over 10 times and was outscored 8-0 on fast break points while Moore finished with 3 points on 1-for-5 shooting. This comes after he dropped 19 points in the first half a game earlier against Air Force. Moreover, they finished 1-for-10 from three.
“Unfortunately it really comes down to that poor offensive execution in that first half,” said Miles. The Spartans 14 first-half points was their lowest total in a single half this season.
If it wasn’t made evident enough, Saturday was a troubling affair.
But Spartan fans would be wasting their time and heightened blood pressure if it left them blowing smoke between their ears and one stubbed toe away from sending a remote through their TV.
Time to take a step back and widen the proverbial lens.
This season was dedicated to improvement and that’s happened.
They’ve already quadrupled their conference win total from a year ago, clinched their second double-digit win season since 2010-11 and if they run the table, have an outside shot of making it to the postseason where they’ve never won a game before.
Never.
Also, SDSU is ranked No. 23 in the NET and is projected by ESPN to be a seventh seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Halfway through the conference season it’s very clear who the Spartans are:
A team who beats teams they should beat and loses to teams they should lose to.
They’re 4-0 against conference opponents who are below .500 in conference play and their five losses are against the five teams ahead of them in the Mountain West standings.