San Diego State enters the first season of the rebuilt Pac-12 with a preseason prediction that puts the Aztecs in third place, behind Gonzaga and Utah State.
That top spot went, as expected, to Gonzaga, which was selected first by the media members who will cover the conference. The Zags arrive as the headline team in a league that now features Washington State and Oregon State, four former Mountain West schools including SDSU, and newcomer Texas State.
Utah State checked in at No. 2 after a season that started with the Aggies winning the Mountain West regular-season title and ended with them beating San Diego State in the conference tournament championship game for the automatic NCAA Tournament berth. That defeat finished off the Aztecs’ case for an at-large bid, and they were left out on Selection Sunday, missing March Madness for the first time in six seasons.
Behind SDSU in the poll were Colorado State, Oregon State, Boise State, Texas State, Washington State and Fresno State.
The Aztecs open the regular season Tuesday night at home against Fullerton State, with tipoff set for 7. Their Pac-12 opener comes Jan. 6 at Oregon State.
San Diego State also placed two sophomores on the 18-player Pac-12 Preseason Impact List, which includes two players from each school: Elzie Harrington and Tae Simmons.
Harrington played in 23 games as a freshman and started 17 of them before a leg injury sidelined him for the final 10 games. He averaged eight points and 2.3 assists in 21.1 minutes.
Simmons returns as the team’s top rebounder at 3.4 per game and also led the Aztecs in field goal percentage at 64.7.
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Gonzaga Women Suddenly Have Expectations This Program Has To Answer
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The roster is drawing attention, too, with Lauren Whittaker earning preseason watchlist mention on the national awards circuit and junior guard Allie Turner coming off an All-West Coast Conference first-team season plus tournament honors. Turner and Whittaker are set to share the floor again, giving Gonzaga a foundation that looks capable of meeting the spotlight, even as the exact ceiling for this group still has to play out once the season starts. [Read more 🡒]