Hyped game arrives vs. No. 25 San Diego State

Tuesday, Dec. 5 \| 7 p.m. \| Global Credit Union Arena \| Phoenix, Ariz.

	SAN DIEGO STATE AZTECS (7-1)	at	GRAND CANYON LOPES (6-1)

WATCH: ESPNU, ESPN+ \| LISTEN: 1580 The Fanatic \| STATS: View

The locker rooms barely had cleared from Saturday night's Grand Canyon victory when several Havocs moved from making commotion in the student sections to making temporary homes in tents outside the arena.

The anticipation for Tuesday night's home game against 2023 national runner-up San Diego State did not begin with GCU's 6-1 start, but that has helped empty campus housing into a village of more than 700 students who seek the best seats for one of the Lopes' most anticipated home games ever.

Havocs

The game has been a background buzz long before the Nov. 6 season opener. Once San Diego State made its run to the NCAA championship game, Lopes fans knew this return game for a visit to SDSU visit was coming. The July schedule release made it official, and the teams' respective starts and an ESPNU telecast heightened the appetite.

The Aztecs enter at 7-1 and ranked 25th in the nation.

The Lopes are 6-1, the best start of their Division I era.

"It's really cool to see how excited our fans, especially our students, are for this game," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said. "You don't get many times in your life to get the national runner-up in your home arena on national TV."

The Lopes have not hosted a ranked team since December 2020, when they were edged 71-70 by then-No. 23 Arizona State.

Just as GCU has needed comebacks and close calls to be 6-1, San Diego State has survived scares to get to 7-1 after overtime wins against Washington and California and a rally from 14 points down Friday night at UC San Diego, where the Aztecs won 63-62 on a last-second putback.

Phoenix, AZ Nov. 25 , 2023: GCU moved to 4-1, executing a 28-point turnaround for an 86-71 victory against North Dakota State on Saturday night at GCU Arena.

Phoenix, AZ Nov. 25 , 2023: GCU moved to 4-1, executing a 28-point turnaround for an 86-71 victory against North Dakota State on Saturday night at GCU Arena.

"It feels just like a normal game to me," Lopes junior guard Ray Harrison. "I understand what's at stake. I'm not allowing it to change my approach or how I'm preparing. We don't go into any game feeling as though we're an underdog or that the other team is a lot better than us."

San Diego State is 1-1 on the road this season with the narrow win at UCSD and its season's lone blemish coming in a 74-65 defeat at No. 14 BYU on Nov. 10.

But the Aztecs traditionally travel well with a .630 road winning percentage since 2009-10, the fifth-best away mark in the nation during that time.

Defense is a way to that, and San Diego State has been one of the nation's best. The Aztecs have held five of eight opponents to less than 40% shooting to only allow 63.5 points per game this season.

"They're very physically strong," Drew said. "They have really active hands. You can tell it's a makeup of what their program has been through the years, so this team defends at a really high level."

There is consistency in the program from the helm, where seventh-year head coach Brian Dutcher built upon the defensive intensity and precision that Steve Fisher started. Dutcher has gone 158-48 after serving 18 years as an Aztecs assistant coach. San Diego State has reached the NCAA tournament 10 times since 2010.

Phoenix, AZ Dec. 2, 2023: GCU gets a come from behind 76-69 win over UT Arlington at GCU Arena. Photo David Kadlubowski/GCU

Phoenix, AZ Dec. 2, 2023: GCU gets a come from behind 76-69 win over UT Arlington at GCU Arena. Photo David Kadlubowski/GCU

The Aztecs' current star, 6-foot-9 senior forward Jaedon LeDee, is among the best they have had. Drew considers him a potential All-American. He is averaging 22.6 points and 10.4 rebounds to put two national top-10 scorers in Tuesday night's game. GCU junior guard Tyon Grant-Foster ranks ninth nationally at 22.3 points per game.

"I can't wait," Grant-Foster said. "It's another opportunity to show the world what we can do."

San Diego State has the carryover from success with four of last season's top six scorers back from that 32-7 team, including a familiar former WAC foe in ex-Seattle U guard Darrion Trammell. The Aztecs 5-foot-10 senior was the Redhawks' leading scorer when the Lopes last saw him two seasons ago, but he is now an Aztecs sixth man playing his 100th career game.

The entire week provides a massive opportunity for GCU's program status, which already received a boost Monday by receiving its highest NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) ranking ever at No. 58. After playing No. 25 San Diego State on Tuesday night on ESPNU, the Lopes will have another ESPNU game Saturday at Liberty.

With SDSU and Liberty this week and Louisiana Tech visiting on Dec. 30, three of GCU's next five opponents are ranked in the top 50 of NET.

"When you play in these type of games, this is the kind of stuff you live for," Lopes senior guard Josh Baker sad. "With this type of fan base and a national runner-up, you've got to love it."

Lope tracks

GCU is 3-1 all-time against San Diego State but 2-1 in its 11-season Division I era. GCU swept a home-and-home series of December games in 2015 and 2016. The first game of this installment was four years ago, when San Diego State won 86-61 at home.
Drew on San Diego State honoring the contract with a GCU Arena visit that many top teams decline: "It was very respectable of them to keep the game and come."
Dutcher told the San Diego Union-Tribune, "We don't duck anybody. We're willing to play anybody, anywhere. That's what good college players want to play in, environments like this. We have to embrace it. We can't run from it. We have to say, 'This is great.' "
GCU ranks second nationally for free throw attempts per game at 30.4 and have made 73.2% of them for 22.3 free throw points per game, the third-highest average in the nation.
Lopes senior guard Tyon Grant-Foster ranks ninth nationally in scoring with 22.3 points per game after posting consecutive double-doubles to win WAC Player of the Week. He averaged 23.0 points and 11.5 rebounds in conference wins against UT Rio Grande Valley and UT Arlington. "Sitting out two years and coming back and doing what he's doing, at the end of the day, it's really impressive," Drew said. "He's only going to get better as the season goes along."
GCU's tempo has notably increased from last season, nearly doubling its fastbreak scoring. The Lopes are averaging 14.3 fastbreak points per game this season (ranking 60th nationally) after averaging 7.7 last season (250th nationally).
Senior guard Josh Baker played his best game of the season Saturday night, when he scored 10 points in 19 minutes off the bench. "Just really good on defense," Drew said. "He didn't foul at the rim. He did a good job of moving his feet, showing his hands and having them take tough 2s. His maturity was really important for us down the stretch."
San Diego State ranks top 50 nationally in four categories: opponent 3-point percentage (28.4%), opponent points per game (63.5), opponent field goal percentage (40.9%) and rebound margin (plus-4.5 per game).
Play-by-play announcer Dave Feldman and analyst Mike O'Donnell will call the game on ESPNU.

Tuesday, Dec. 5 | 7 p.m. | Global Credit Union Arena | Phoenix, Ariz.

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Players Mentioned

Josh Baker

Tyon Grant-Foster

Ray Harrison

Grand Canyon University Athletics