What San Diego State head coach Brian Dutcher said before matchup against Colorado State
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San Diego State will begin a two-game road trip this weekend, starting with a trip to Colorado State on Saturday night. The Aztecs (15-5, 8-3), ranked No. 50 in the latest NCAA NET rankings, will look to gain ground in the Mountain West standings against a Colorado State team they are jockeying with.
The Aztecs will then fly directly to San Jose State and get two days to prepare for the Spartans before Tuesday night’s game at Provident Credit Union Event Center.
Before the Aztecs headed out of town, head coach Brian Dutcher met with the media on Wednesday to discuss the upcoming road trip, player accolades and how San Diego State utilized a week off between games.
ON UPCOMING ROAD TRIP
“We’re trying to take advantage of the bye week, get a little better as a team and then head on the road and see if we can keep playing good basketball as a team on the road. We’re 4-1 on the road in the Mountain West this season and we’ll have an opportunity against Colorado State and San Jose State to improve on that. We’ll be ready to go against a team we’re tied with in the standings against Colorado State on Saturday and it’ll be a real test for us.”
“I’m not sure the players know who we’re tied with, the coaches know and that’s all that’s important. Every game is important, you watch these Mountain West games… Getting a road win is hard for anybody, we’ll be challenged to do it, but we’ll be ready for the task.”
ON MILES BYRD
“Last year Jaedon LeDee won the Karl Malone Award and to have Miles up for the (Julius Erving Award) is very cool. It’s because we’re winning and the program we have here and the players we have here, so I’m proud of each and every one of them.”
ON PLAYING UP TO COMPETITION
“I always say the standard is we’re playing against ourselves at the end of the day, we have to play to our standard. Whoever we play, if we play to our standard I like our chances. It’s the same thing I said to the team that made it to the national championship game. If we play as good as we’re supposed to play, and somebody beats us then we’ll tip our hat to them.”
“Sometimes I speak it into existence. Coach Fisher did the same thing, telling them that we get better as the season goes on. Unless you work, my words are gonna be hollow. That’s the message we’ve always delivered here that we get better as the season goes on.”
ON BJ DAVIS DEFENSIVELY
“I know BJ gets frustrated when he misses shots, but he had to guard (New Mexico’s Donovan Dent), (Wyoming’s Obi Agbim), he gets the best guy on the other team and he’s done a good job of that, pressuring them. Every basket they get is hard-earned and I’m really pleased with how BJ’s grown as a young defender as a sophomore. The guys we make him guard; he’s done a magnificent job.”
ON USING THE BYE WEEK
“We took two days off. We took Sunday and Monday off to rest them a little bit. We added a few things, we worked on some fundamentals that we have to get better at, at the defensive end. We’ll see where that all lands as we head into our next two road games.”
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Bodie DeSilva has been covering sports in San Diego for more than a decade. He previously covered San Diego State athletics for Scout/Fox Sports.