Big West-Mountain West Q&A Session: San Diego State

The Big West Conference and the Mountain West Conference play 16 non-conference games this season.  In order to become more familiar with our not-so Mid-Major foes, we sat down with different Mountain West writers to answer a few questions about their respective teams.  Today, we learn a little about the San Diego State Aztecs from DavidSDSU of San Diego Sports Domination.

CH: Now that Jamaal Franklin is gone, who will step up to be the team leader?

DavidSDSU: The new team leader for the San Diego State Aztecs is J.J. O'Brien. This team is a lot quieter now that Jamaal Franklin is in the NBA. The guys focus is on the job at hand and not on the exotic dunks they had been known for.

CH: Use one word to describe this upcoming season. Why?

DavidSDSU: Exciting. This San Diego State team is going to be very fun to watch. Many people do not have high expectations for the Aztecs across the country, but those at home know how talented this team really is. The Aztecs have acquired some great transfers who are going to be forced to sit out this season, and that will only strengthen this Aztec squad. The Aztecs have coach Justin Hudson back, and this will be huge for the already-strong San Diego State defensive. Hudson was the man who ran the defensive calls for the great 34-3 Aztec team.

CH: How will Josh Davis fit into this rotation? Will he be equally as terrifying as he was at Tulane?

DavidSDSU: Josh Davis is already a great fit in the San Diego State rotation. He continued where he left off at Tulane getting his first double-double as an Aztec in his first game. Davis is that big physical force in the middle that San Diego State has been lacking.

CH: The key match-up to Friday's game is Winston Shepard vs. Chris Patton. What other play-makers on the Aztecs roster should we be aware of?

DavidSDSU: The three best defensive players on this San Diego State team are Josh Davis, J.J. O'Brien and Skylar Spencer. Spencer set the record for most blocks by a freshman in a MWC regular season, despite only playing in half of the games.

CH: The media picked the Aztecs to finish fourth in the conference. Is this too high, too low or about right?

DavidSDSU: This is the correct placement for the Aztecs if you are basing the records on the players who have left. I would have placed the Aztecs third behind UNM and Boise State. The Aztecs look forward to proving others wrong and showing how good they really are.

CH: Give us a score prediction for UC-Riverside versus SDSU Friday night.

DavidSDSU: Friday night San Diego State will defend their 34-game winning streak against teams from the great State of California. I believe the score of the game will be in the mid to high 60's. San Diego State this season will live in the low to mid 70's. If the Aztecs score more than 70 points they will be unbeatable.