I had San Diego State firmly in the CBS Sports Preseason Top 25 And 1 — right up until Malachi Flynn decided to forgo his remaining eligibility and enter the 2020 NBA Draft. I never thought that development would take the Aztecs from great to terrible. But it was clearly and undeniably a massive loss at the point guard position. So, when it happened, I removed SDSU from the Top 25 And 1.
But now the Aztecs are back in.
It's the result of a strong start to this unusual season that began with a 73-58 victory over UCLA and now also features Thursday's 80-68 win at Arizona State. SDSU is now 5-0.
Now were the Bruins and Sun Devils both short-handed for those matchups? Yes. UCLA was missing Jalen Hill and Johnny Juzang. Arizona State was missing Marcus Bagley. Those facts are notable and worth highlighting. But, regardless, San Diego State looked terrific in both wins, and it's also worth noting that the Aztecs have moved from 44th at KenPom in the preseason to 26th at KenPom as of Friday morning. It's not quite as wild as watching San Diego State start 97th last season before finishing sixth at KenPom. But it is a similar pattern that suggests Brian Dutcher's team is out-performing expectations once again.
San Diego State is No. 21 in Friday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. The Aztecs' next game is next Friday against BYU. According to current projections at KenPom, San Diego State is expected to be favored in every remaining regular-season game.
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Friday's Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Gonzaga's perfect record features wins over Kansas and West Virginia. The Zags have temporarily suspended basketball activities because of COVID-19 issues. | -- | 8-3 |
| 2 |  | Adam Flagler finished with 14 points and three steals in Wednesday's 83-52 victory over Stephen F. Austin. The Bears' perfect record features a double-digit win over Illinois. | -- | 7-3 |
| 3 |  | Jordan Bohannon made seven 3-pointers and finished with 24 points and six assists in Tuesday's 93-80 victory over North Carolina. The Hawkeyes made 42.5% of the 40 3-pointers they attempted against UNC. | -- | 8-3 |
| 4 |  | Jalen Wilson finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds in Tuesday's 73-72 victory over Creighton. The Jayhawks' lone loss is a season-opening loss to top-ranked Gonzaga. | -- | 8-2 |
| 5 |  | Joey Hauser made six 3-pointers and finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds in Sunday's 79-61 victory over Western Michigan. Aaron Henry added 12 points and five assists. | -- | 9-2 |
| 6 |  | Marcus Zegarowski missed a potential game-tying free throw with 1.1 seconds left in Tuesday's 73-72 loss at Kansas. The junior guard entered the game as a 66.7% free throw shooter. | -- | 7-5 |
| 7 |  | Ayo Dosunmu finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds in Tuesday's 83-68 victory at Duke. The Illini's lone loss is a loss to No. 2 Baylor. | -- | 7-3 |
| 8 |  | John Fulkerson finished with 11 points and three rebounds in Tuesday's 56-47 victory over Colorado. Santiago Vescovi added 11 points and five assists. | -- | 11-0 |
| 9 |  | Jeremiah Robinson-Earl finished with 19 points and eight rebounds in Sunday's 68-64 victory at Texas. The Wildcats' lone loss is an overtime loss to Virginia Tech. | -- | 8-4 |
| 10 |  | Miles McBride finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in Sunday's 80-71 victory over Georgetown. The Mountaineers' lone loss is a single-digit loss to top-ranked Gonzaga. | -- | 8-2 |
| 11 |  | Virginia's lone loss is a one-point loss to San Francisco. The Cavaliers have temporarily suspended basketball activities because of COVID-19 issues. | -- | 6-5 |
| 12 |  | Houston's perfect record features a double-digit win over Texas Tech. The Cougars have temporarily suspended basketball activities because of COVID-19 issues. | -- | 7-3 |
| 13 |  | Greg Brown finished with 18 points and three blocks in Wednesday's 74-53 victory over Texas State. The Longhorns' 5-1 record features wins over North Carolina and Indiana. | -- | 9-2 |
| 14 |  | Kyler Edwards finished with 19 points and seven rebounds in Wednesday's 51-44 victory over Abilene Christian. The Red Raiders' lone loss is a neutral-court loss to Houston. | -- | 8-2 |
| 15 |  | Brad Davison finished with 23 points in Wednesday's 73-62 victory over Rhode Island. The Badgers' next scheduled game is against Northern Iowa. | -- | 9-3 |
| 16 |  | E.J. Liddell finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds in Tuesday's 90-85 victory at Notre Dame. Three of the Buckeyes' four wins have come by double-digits. | -- | 7-4 |
| 17 |  | Ron Harper Jr. made five 3-pointers and finished with 26 points in Tuesday's 79-69 victory over Syracuse. The Scarlet Knights' next three scheduled games are against Maryland, Illinois and Ohio State. | -- | 7-4 |
| 18 |  | The Blue Devils missed 17 of the 22 3-pointers they attempted in Tuesday's 83-68 loss to Illinois. Duke has now lost two non-league games at home for the first time in nearly 40 years. | -- | 9-2 |
| 19 |  | UNC allowed the Hawkeyes to shoot 42.5% from 3-point range in Tuesday's 93-80 loss at Iowa. The Tar Heels' two losses are both to teams ranked ahead of them in the Top 25 And 1. | -- | 6-5 |
| 20 |  | Tyler Burton finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds in Wednesday's 78-68 victory over Northern Iowa. The Spiders' perfect record features a double-digit win at Kentucky. | -- | 4-7 |
| 21 |  | Jordan Schakel finished with 25 points and six rebounds in Thursday's 80-68 victory at Arizona State. The Aztecs' 5-0 record also features a win over UCLA. | NR | 7-2 |
| 22 |  | Raiquan Gray finished with 12 points and nine rebounds in Wednesday's 69-67 overtime victory over Indiana. The Seminoles' next scheduled game is Saturday against Florida. | -- | 9-3 |
| 23 |  | Dre Davis finished with 21 points and two assists in Tuesday's 75-54 victory over Western Kentucky. The Cardinals' 4-0 record also features a win over Seton Hall. | -- | 6-5 |
| 24 |  | Hunter Dickinson finished with 18 points, seven rebounds and four blocks off the bench in Wednesday's 91-71 victory over Toledo. The Wolverines' next scheduled game is their Big Ten opener against Penn State. | -- | 8-3 |
| 25 |  | Gibson Jimerson finished with 21 points in Tuesday's 88-65 victory over Central Arkansas. The Billikens' 4-0 record features a win over LSU. | -- | 6-5 |
| 26 |  | LSU's lone loss is a single-digit loss at Saint Louis. The Tigers have temporarily suspended basketball activities because of COVID-19 issues. | -- | 9-2 |
