In the past two years, since the Tritons’ moved to Division II, the men’s basketball team has played the Division I San Diego State Aztecs very early in its season, creating a cross-town rivalry for both players and fans to enjoy. So far, the series record is 2-0, Aztecs, but on Dec. 2 the Tritons will get a chance to make that 2-1 when they take on SDSU at Cox Arena.
Historically, the Tritons’ problem hasn’t been defense — they’ve kept the Aztecs to fairly average winning scores of 80 and 93, respectively — as much as it has been offense. UCSD has only put up scores of 48 and 53 in its two previous meetings against SDSU.
Lone senior on the team Jody Woods will be looking to improve on his performance in last year’s game, where he posted 13 total points and grabbed four defensive rebounds. Jordan Watkins, the only sophomore on the team, will also be looking to post even stronger numbers than his seven points and four rebounds from last year’s game.
In addition to these strong performances, the rest of the team, comprised of six juniors and eight freshman, all hope to put up solid numbers, especially where the scoreboard is concerned.
UCSD’s low shooting percentage proved to be costly during its previous games against SDSU. Last year, the Tritons posted a below-average 35.8 percent, while the Aztecs shot 67.8 percent. In 2000, UCSD posted an even lower 32.1 percent.
After the Tritons game on Dec. 2, UCSD will play Grand Canyon University at home on Dec. 4.
