San Diego State looks to make early statement against Colorado

San Diego State Aztecs forward Tae Simmons believes the Aztecs are better than many realize.

They will get their next chance to show the nation they're a top-25 team again when they host Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday afternoon in the Bill Walton Classic in San Diego.

San Diego State opened its season with a 102-78 win against visiting Cal State Fullerton on Tuesday night. It got 25 points from Latrell Davis on 5-for-8 shooting from 3-point distance, and 14 points and 11 rebounds from Simmons.

"I've been telling people, once we get in our flow, and once we start figuring each other out, we're going to be pretty dangerous," Simmons said. "I think we saw a little glimpse of that (Tuesday) night. I think once we start limiting our turnovers and everybody's in that flow, it's going to be real dangerous."

The Aztecs had 15 turnovers against Fullerton and forced nine, but owned a significant 50-28 edge in rebounding and shot 28-for-34 from the line (82.4 percent).

"We won the game how good teams win games," San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher said. "We won it on the glass, and we won it at the foul line, and we shared the ball pretty well."

The Aztecs have nine new players from a team that finished 22-11 last season, including 14-6 in their final season in the Mountain West Conference, but did not make the NCAA Tournament field and declined invitations to other postseason tournaments.

"Everybody has new teams, and we're all trying to put it together as quickly as we can," Dutcher said. "Some growth, but still a lot more room for growth with this team moving forward."

Colorado had a big second half in its season opener against visiting Abilene Christian on Monday night, turning a two-point lead at the break into a 35-point rout.

Jalin Holland, one of the few returners for the Buffaloes, finished with team highs of 18 points and six rebounds. Josiah Sanders and reserve Justin Neely scored 14 points each, and Barrington Hargress contributed 11.

"Jalin, Josiah, Ian (Inman), and even Barrington really, really had good offseasons," Colorado coach Tad Boyle said. "They worked on their game. They worked on their shooting. They worked on their ballhandling. They understand now, as sophomores, what it takes. So it's nice to see that hard work in the spring and the summer and the fall pay off for those guys."

Bill Walton, a Hall of Famer and well-known San Diegan, died in 2024 at age 71.

--Field Level Media