San Diego has lost its last two games as it prepares to face visiting Arizona State, which is on a four-game winning streak, on Saturday.
The Toreros (6-4) are coming off lopsided losses at Stanford 88-64 on Sunday and at Utah State 108-81 on Wednesday.
San Diego coach Steve Lavin, formerly the head coach at UCLA and St. John’s, has 10 newcomers this season after having 12 last season in his first campaign as Toreros coach.
The Toreros roster features nine freshmen, including Romanian guard Dragos Lungu, who is averaging 9.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.
Kevin Patton Jr., a 6-foot-8 freshman guard, is averaging 8.8 points and a team-best 5.7 rebounds a game.
“It’s joyful, high energy,” Lavin said of his mix of youth and veterans. “I’ve had to exhibit some patience but at the same time also push them because we have to accelerate the learning curve if we’re going to have the season we aspire to.”
Deuce Turner, a junior guard, led San Diego with 17 points in the loss to Utah State. He made 7 of 10 shots from the field and going 3-for-5 from beyond the arc.
He leads the team scoring at 13.3 points per game while shooting 43.6 percent from the field.
Arizona State (6-2) has reeled off wins against Vanderbilt, Sam Houston, San Francisco and SMU after losing 77-49 to BYU on Thanksgiving in Las Vegas.
The latest three wins came at home, where Arizona State is 5-0 this season.
The Sun Devils overcame a 13-point, second-half deficit to SMU on Wednesday, prevailing 76-74 by forcing 15 turnovers.
Arizona State outscored the Mustangs 26-11 in the final 11:06 of the game.
“Press makes us play hard, makes us put in effort, turns teams over,” said guard Jose Perez, who finished with a team-high 20 points in the win. “Right now, we’re playing well in transition as a team. We’re sharing it when we get in transition better than, in my opinion, the halfcourt set, so I feel like right now we’re labeled as a transition team.”
–Field Level Media