San Diego State’s basketball schedule received a little more clarity on Wednesday with the addition of a 31st regular-season game and broadcast information for the showdown at Gonzaga.
The Aztecs will host Division II Point Loma Nazarene University on Nov. 27 to break up a 2½-week stretch of five games away from home. The Sea Lions, ranked No. 8 in the CBB Nation preseason Division II poll, went 29-4 last season and reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
The hope was to find a lower-level Division I opponent in a one-off “buy” game, playing at Viejas Arena for a five-figure fee two days after facing Cal in San Juan Capistrano. But that date, the Monday after Thanksgiving, proved difficult for logistical and travel reasons, and PLNU has been better than the bottom of Division I; the Sea Lions beat Pepperdine 77-50 in a preseason exhibition two years ago.
SDSU and PLNU have played 14 times, but only once since 1965 — a 76-49 Aztecs win at Viejas Arena in 2012. It is the longest gap between games for SDSU against any of the county’s four-year programs.
The Aztecs will have played two days earlier against Cal, but the Sea Lions won’t have any advantage in terms of rest. They play that Saturday night in Nampa, Idaho, against Northwest Nazarene.
“We looked, but it’s hard finding games on the dates you can play,” Aztecs coach Brian Dutcher said. “I think with the strength of our schedule already, to play a lower level buy game in Division I or Point Loma Nazarene, we’re served either way to get the game in.
“And Point Loma won’t be easy. It isn’t like we’re adding a soft team that hasn’t had a great level of success over the past few years.”
That gives the Aztecs two non-Division I opponents this season, with NAIA Saint Katherine University of San Marcos coming to Viejas Arena on Dec. 19. Mountain West scheduling parameters suggest only one non-Division I opponent per season.
“They made an exception this year that if we had to play a second non-Division I team, we could do that,” Dutcher said. “Just based on what we’re already playing, I think it’s OK. If people look at our schedule and who we’ve tried to schedule, they’ll know we’re not trying to duck anybody.”
That nonconference schedule includes a Dec. 29 date at West Coast power Gonzaga. The good news for Aztecs fans: It will be televised by ESPN2 at 6 p.m.
ESPN and its networks have rights to air West Coast Conference home games, but they also have a heavy football bowl schedule that day. There was a fear the SDSU game would drop to a second-tier rights holder like Root Sports Northwest, which isn’t readily available in San Diego.
Two conference games have been assigned tip times: 6 p.m. PST at Colorado State on Jan. 30 and 8 p.m. PST at UNLV on March 5. Another game, Dec. 5 at Grand Canyon, is expected to announce broadcast information in the coming days.
That leaves four games currently without TV: three at home against Long Beach State, Point Loma Nazarene and Saint Katherine, and the Nov. 25 neutral-court event against Cal at JSerra High.
Scrimmage time
SDSU will play its annual closed-door preseason scrimmage Saturday against Arizona State at Viejas Arena. Only essential team staff is allowed inside.
Some scrimmages are now open to the public as charity events (Nevada at Oregon on Saturday, for example, to benefit the American Red Cross), but this is not one of them.
While scores and statistics regularly leak out from closed-door scrimmages, they aren’t necessarily coached like real games. Sometimes coaches agree to situational segments (with zone or full-court pressure). Sometimes coaches, like Dutcher, substitute freely no matter the time or score.
“I just want to see all the new guys perform for the first time in an Aztecs uniform,” Dutcher said. “That includes (sophomore) Miles Byrd, who didn’t get a lot of minutes last year, and (sophomore) Elijah Saunders and all the newcomers — the two freshmen, the two transfers. I already know what a body of work looks like from the veterans.
“We’ll sub, but I want to see everybody. I want to see the new guys even if they’re not performing well. I want to see them through some rough patches.”
Arizona State went 23-13 last season, tied for fifth in the Pac-12, and routed Nevada 98-73 in an NCAA Tournament play-in game before losing by two against TCU. The Sun Devils are No. 81 and in Kenpom.com’s preseason ratings (SDSU is No. 29.) and picked to finish sixth in the Pac-12 preseason media poll.
Injury update
Saunders and Darrion Trammell have missed the past week of practice and remain questionable for Saturday’s scrimmage.
Saunders is in the tail end of concussion protocol after cutting open his head, but Dutcher expects him to be available. Trammell had a recurring shoulder issue flare up two Sundays ago and hasn’t practiced since, wearing a shoulder brace for a few days and riding a sideline exercycle.
“I’d like to have him sooner rather than later, but I’m not trying to rush anyone back from an injury that would then be lingering,” Dutcher said. “I want to get him healed up for the season. The training staff says he’s trending in the right direction, which is all I need to hear. He’s not getting worse, he’s getting better. I’m not in a rush. I just want to make sure he’s healthy when we get him back.”