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The San Diego St. Aztecs will open up the season in a unique way by playing a top the USS Midway against the Syracuse Orange. The Aztecs have advantages such as near home court advantage, but the experience on the Aztecs team will prove to be a deciding factor in this game.
While the Orange does have glints of seniority on their team the Orange are a relativity young team going into a hostile environment, but playing in the big east any away game is hostile, never the less the Orangemen are one of the deeper team in the NCAA.
When: Sunday, November 11th, 4:00 PM ET
Where: San Diego, California
Watch: FSN
Key Injuries:
San Diego State:
No injuries to report
Syracuse Orange:
No injuries to report
Backcourt Comparison
The San Diego State Aztecs certainly have the advantage when it comes to Backcourt. Of the projected starting 5, the backcourt should, hypothetically, contribute near 81% of the Aztecs offense. SG Jamaal Franklin (17.4 PPG-7.9 RPG), SG Chase Tapley (15.8 PPG-4.3 RPG) and PG Xavier Thames (10.1 PPG-4.1 APG) all return for the Aztecs and look to make an impact in this game.
Brandon Triche (9.4 PPG-2.46 APG) leads the backcourt in offense scoring while SG Michael Carter-Williams (2.7 PPG-1.5 RPG) should see a lot more playing time and a lot more points scored in this game.
Frontcourt Comparison:
A weaker point in the SDSU offense, the frontcourt isn't as glamorous on paper, but should clean up most missed shots and grab plenty of boards. PF Deshawn Stephens (5.2 PPG-4.9 RPG) and St. Johns transfer SF Dwayne Polee (4.4 PPG-2.5 RPG) should contribute in less "flashy" ways.
When comparing the frontcourts and backcourts of these two teams, it is like ying and yang. The strength of the Orange offense comes form it's frontcourt, led by SF C.J. Fair (8.5 PPG-5.4 RPG). Frosh C Dajuan Coleman looks to make his Orangemen debut and memorable one and PF Rakeem Christmas (2.9 PPG-2.9 RPG) looks to make his name known by making more of an impact on this Orange team than last year.
Prediction: San Diego State W, 70-67
While it is certainty difficult to predict the exact score of this game, you can bet that it is going to be a close one. The near home court advantage and experience is too much to be ignored of the Aztecs, where on the other side the Orangemen are going to prove that they are deserving of their ranking and won't completely fold, home court advantage or not.