Preview: San Diego State returns from long layoff to face Troy

San Diego State vs. Troy

When: 7 p.m. Tuesday

Where: Viejas Arena

On the air: KUSI-TV (streaming on Mountain West Network); 760 AM

Records: SDSU is 2-0, Troy is 3-2.

Series history: The all-time series is tied 1-1, with Troy winning 93-84 in 2003 and SDSU winning 60-55 in 2022. Both games were played at Viejas Arena.

Trojans update: Talk about a road trip. This is Troy’s third of four games in Southern California over six days. After opening the season with three wins, the Trojans lost 74-63 at Loyola Marymount on Friday and 94-85 at CSUN on Sunday. Following the trip to Viejas Arena, where the Kenpom metric has them as 17-point underdogs, they play Thursday at USC. Coach Scott Cross prefers a tight rotation, regularly playing his starters 30-plus minutes per game. The Trojans average 87.2 points and like to launch it from deep, with nearly half their shot attempts coming behind the arc. Five players are scoring in double figures: Cooper Campbell (15.8), brother Cobi Campbell (11.0), Victor Valdes (15.2), Thomas Dowd (14.2) and Theo Seng (11.0). Known as Troy State until 2005, Troy is located in Troy, Ala., about 100 miles southeast of Birmingham. The Trojans were picked fourth in the Sun Belt preseason coaches’ poll and are currently No. 136 in Kenpom. They went 23-11 last season and were a No. 14 seed in the NCAA Tournament, losing 76-57 to Kentucky. It was only their second trip to the Big Dance in 22 years. The two leading scorers from that team both transferred: Tayton Conerway (14.2 ppg) to Indiana and Myles Rigsby (12.2 ppg) to Tulsa.

Aztecs update: This is the annual Nike N7 game, where the Aztecs wear turquoise uniforms to honor and benefit Native American communities. It is also the final tune-up before the schedule stiffens considerably, with three marquee games at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas starting with No. 7 Michigan. The headline against Troy is the expected return of Magoon Gwath, nearly seven months after surgery on his right knee and a brief spell in the transfer portal. Miles Byrd missed three days of practice last week with a sprained finger on his left (shooting) hand but is back at practice and available, although the finger will be wrapped for the foreseeable future. This will be a battle of offense vs. defense, with a 36-point spread between what Troy is scoring and what the Aztecs are allowing. SDSU ranks ninth nationally in turnovers forced at 20 per game. Said coach Brian Dutcher: “Anytime you play a team that’s capable of making 3s, you hope you don’t run into a night where they make 15.” A scheduling quirk gave the Aztecs nine days between games, a rarity this earlier in the season, and they are the only team in Division I that has played just twice. Dutcher used the time to “put in a lot of new stuff, both offensively and defensively.” The Aztecs moved up one spot in the Associated Press poll to first among others receiving votes, or 26th overall.

Next up: Monday vs. No. 7 Michigan in Las Vegas (7:30 p.m., truTV)

— MARK ZEIGLER