Jeffrey (Tyge) O'Donnell-Imagn Images
Nov 26, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; San Diego State Aztecs player BJ Davis (10) shoots against the Creighton Bluejays at MGM Grand Garden Arena.
FINAL: San Diego State 71, No. 21 Creighton 53
LAS VEGAS – The Scarlet and Black are back in their home away from home.
The San Diego State Aztecs open the 2024 Players Era Festival against a familiar foe in the No. 21/19 Creighton Bluejays, whom SDSU will face in a neutral court game for the fifth straight time at 11 a.m. on Tuesday at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
San Diego State (2-1) is coming off a loss to then No. 3/4 Gonzaga, 80-67 at Viejas Arena on Nov. 18, which saw the Aztecs go through a key first half cold stretch that allowed the Bulldogs to take control and never relinquish the lead. Nick Boyd scored a career and game-high 23 points with nine rebounds, while BJ Davis added 15 points. Magoon Gwath set a new career high with five blocks, but fouled out in 14 minutes of action. Gonzaga was paced by the senior duo of forward Graham Ike's 23 points and guard Ryan Nembhard's 19 points and 10 assists.
Creighton (4-1) is coming off a 74-63 home loss to Nebraska, as the Cornhuskers limited Preseason Big East Player of the Year Ryan Kalkbrenner to 4 points, with the senior center finishing 0-of-1 shooting (a 3-point try) with 11 rebounds. Junior guard Pop Isaacs, a transfer from Texas Tech, led the Bluejays with a game-best 25 points and senior guard Steven Ashworth added 16 points and four assists. The former Utah State Aggie injured his leg in the final minutes of the game and is questionable for today's game, though he was on the floor taking pregame shoot around. Creighton attempted 42 of their 52 field goal tries from 3-point land, making 12 — Jackson McAndrew (2-of-6) and Jamiya Neal (1-of-4) were the only other Bluejays to knock down a triple in addition to Isaacs (5-of-13) and Ashworth (4-of-13).
The Aztecs rank 55th in KenPom's net efficiency rating, with Creighton slotted at 33rd. The metric ranks SDSU's adjusted defensive efficiency as 22nd (95.1 points allowed per 100 possessions, adjusted for opponent). The Bluejays are 35th in adjusted offensive efficiency (115.2 points per 100 possessions, adjusted for opponent) and 40th in adjusted defensive efficiency at 97.8.
Bart Torvik's T-Rank slots Creighton at 27th, with the Jays ranking in the top ten in 2-point percentage (first), free throw rate defense (second), 2-point percentage defense (seventh), 3-point rate (eighth) and effective field goal percentage defense (10th). SDSU is 79th in T-Rank, which is a power rating that gives a percentage of beating an average DI team, and is 9th in 2-point percentage defense.
SDSU won the last meeting between the teams, earning a spot in the 2023 Final Four with a 57-56 win in the Louisville Regional Final. Creight took the NCAA Tournament First Round meeting in Fort Worth, 72-69 in overtime in 2022. The teams met in a semi-final of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational in 2019, with the Aztecs winning 83-52.
Catch up on coverage leading into Tuesday: