The San Diego State Aztecs (10-3-0, 2-0 Mountain West Conference) demolished the No. 20 Colorado State Rams (11-1-0, 1-1 MWC) 79-49.
The 30-point win for SDSU was the largest margin of victory against a nationally ranked school.
The Aztec defense limited the Rams to 28% shooting and 15% from the 3-point line.
It was the first time the Aztecs held back-to-back teams to under 30% shooting in MWC history.
The Scarlet and Black held UNLV to 30% shooting in their last game.
Senior guard Matt Bradley put up 26 points against CSU and got to his spots while his shot was the best it looked all season.
Bradley said having a full week of rest led him and the rest of the team to play well all-around.
“We had a great week of practice knowing the competition we’re gonna step into,” Bradley said. “We’re really dialed in offensively and defensively all week.”
Head coach Brian Dutcher was impressed with Bradley’s ability to get to his spots and knock down key shots throughout the game.
“Matt Bradley was sensational,” Dutcher said. “When he got to his spots, he was hard to stop.”
Having senior guard Trey Pulliam back as a set-up man, as well as sophomore guard Lamont Butler and his speed, was a huge plus going into the game against the Rams.
Pulliam led the team with four assists in the game. He didn’t take many shot attempts and ended the game with two points.
Butler, who had been nursing a wrist injury, put up 11 points on the Rams and said his wrist felt good.
“I’m still able to be aggressive, and still comfortable out there just to play my game,” Butler said.
Despite the dominant performance, the Scarlet and Black didn’t play a perfect game as they committed 24 personal fouls.
Dutcher said the fouls didn’t affect them too badly.
“That’s a high-level officiating crew,” Dutcher said. “It’s a hard game to officiate, when two teams go at each other like that and attack to the basket, it’s physical.”
The Rams’ best performers were junior guard Isaiah Stevens with 19 points and junior forward David Roddy with 17 points.
Coming into the game, Roddy had 19.7 points per game and felt the pressure of the Aztec defense all game.
With Stevens having a big 13-point performance in the first half, Butler thought him and the team played him well.
“He’s a really good player as you can see, but we were locked in as a team defensively on him,” Butler said.
The Aztecs finished the game with five players scoring 10 or more points.
Meanwhile, the defense never let up and the loud crowd got into the heads of the Colorado State players.
“I really enjoyed the whole home environment, every home game it’s a blast to play in,” Bradley said. “It definitely has an effect on the other team and gets us fired up.”
The next game will be at Wyoming (11-2-0) on Wednesday, Jan. 12.
