San Diego State basketball receives votes in preseason AP poll
In this story:
The San Diego State men’s basketball team appeared on 17 of 61 ballots in the preseason Associated Press poll released on Monday, but it wasn’t enough to crack the Top 25.
The Aztecs, who have a loaded roster and hope for a deep run in March Madness, have 74 points and technically are No. 28.
The only other Mountain West team to receive votes was Boise State, which earned four points.
What it means
While there was some surprise among fans and observers that the Aztecs didn’t crack the Top 25, the preseason poll can be a bit of a crapshoot.
Some voters might have been looking more at SDSU’s blowout loss to North Carolina in the First Four in March than the job coach Brian Dutcher has done in retaining key players and surrounding them with newcomers.
As it’s done in the past, San Diego State will simply have to play its way into the Top 25, all while navigating a challenging pre-Mountain West Conference schedule.
Big barometer ahead
Although it’s only an exhibition, the Aztecs will get a sense of just how good they are when they host No. 12 UCLA in an exhibition game on Friday night at Viejas Arena.
The Aztecs will play a second exhibition, against San Diego on Oct. 29, before hosting a season-opening stretch against Long Beach State, Idaho State and Troy.
The Aztecs could very well be ranked by then, just in time for a big Thanksgiving week in the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas. SDSU will face No. 7 Michigan on Nov. 24 and then Oregon, which sits just ahead of SDSU in the poll with 98 points, the next night. The Aztecs’ third opponent will be determined by the results of the first two games.
SDSU will return to Viejas Arena for games against Utah Valley, Lamar and the Mountain West opener against Air Force.
The Tecs will then have another big test when they head to Phoenix for a neutral-site showdown with No. 13 Arizona.
After a home game against Whittier, the Aztecs will settle into their final season in the Mountain West before heading to the new-look Pac-12 next season, where they’ll be rivals with No. 21 Gonzaga.
The roster
The Aztecs got a big boost over the summer when guard Miles Byrd and 7-footer Magoon Gwath withdrew from the NBA Draft and returned to Montezuma Mesa for another season. Gwath was the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year despite missing the final five games with an injury. Additionally, guard Reese Waters returns after missing last season with a foot injury.
Additionally, the Aztecs signed Sean Newman Jr., Latrell Davis and Jeremiah Oden from the transfer portal, as well as incoming four-star freshmen Tae Simmons and Elzie Harrington.
Full preseason AP poll
1. Purdue
2. Houston
3. Florida
4. UConn
5. St. John’s
6. Duke
7. Michigan
8. BYU
9. Kentucky
10. Texas Tech
11. Louisville
12. UCLA
13. Arizona
14. Arkansas
15. Alabama
16. Iowa State
17. Illinois
18. Tennessee
19. Kansas
20. Auburn
21. Gonzaga
22. Michigan State
23. Creighton
24. Wisconsin
25. North Carolina
Others receiving votes: N.C. State 101, Oregon 98, San Diego State 74, Texas 35, Ohio State 23, Kansas State 13, Mississippi 11, USC 10, Missouri 8, Washington 7, Vanderbilt 7, Iowa 6, Boise State 4, Mississippi State 3, VCU 2, Virginia 2, Saint Mary’s 2, Indiana 1, Oklahoma 1, Baylor 1
MORE SAN DIEGO STATE NEWS & ANALYSIS
-bd678ba4dbad4f453246f539ee56a3b4.jpg "Bernie Wilson")
Bernie Wilson recently retired from The Associated Press after nearly 41 years, including stops in Spokane, Los Angeles and, for the final 33 years, San Diego. He grew up in Coeur d'Alene and graduated from the University of Idaho.