LAS VEGAS — San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher and his players spewed all the usual cliches after a rare double-digit home loss against No. 3 Gonzaga eight days ago, about being young, about still learning to play with each other, about exhibiting patience, about getting back in the gym and getting better.

Well, they did.

The Aztecs took advantage of a No. 21-ranked Creighton team missing its starting point guard, winning 71-53 on Tuesday in the inaugural game of the Players Era Festival and continuing their crazy run of good fortune in Sin City.

The Aztecs are now 58-16 here over the last 15-plus seasons,15-2 in their last 17 games. This was their first appearance at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, but it’s Vegas all the same.

And Creighton should know. The last time these teams met in this desert oasis, across the freeway at the Orleans Arena in 2019, the Aztecs won by 31.

The difference is that was a relatively experienced team. This one isn’t, with no returning starters and six freshmen or sophomores in the nine-man rotation.

“I love my team,” Dutcher said, “but I don’t know what I’m going to get from them in November. This is a challenging schedule. I know this team is going to be good, but I don’t know how soon it’s going to be good.

“It was good today. Now, can it be good again tomorrow? That’s the question.”

Next up on Wednesday at 1 p.m. is Oregon, an 80-70 winner against No. 20 Texas A&M in the funky format that was put together amid shifting NCAA regulations about nonconference tournaments, precluding a traditional bracket. Saturday’s crossover round is based on results from two pre-set games Tuesday and Wednesday.

That means the Oregon-SDSU winner will advance to the championship game and play the top team from the other group that has No. 6 Houston, No. 9 Alabama, Rutgers and Notre Dame.

And that means more money, the unique dimension of the Players Era Festival. The NIL collective from each program gets $1 million for being here. The champion gets an additional $500,000, the runner-up $250,000.

“When you go to these events with all these teams and look at who you’re going to play and you’re like, ‘Holy smokes, I hope we’re not the team that leaves with no wins,’” Dutcher said. “We’ve got one. Now we have to get greedy and get two, and try to get a third if we can.”

If you’re looking for a defining moment from Tuesday’s game, there were plenty to select from.

There was the flurry of 3s from 6-foot-2 sophomore guard BJ Davis, who finished with career highs in points (18) and rebounds (nine) while shooting 7 of 11. There were the six straight possessions with baskets midway through the second half that blew open the game, punctuated by a pair of 3s from Miles Byrd. There was Magoon Gwath’s step-back at the halftime buzzer.

And then there was what happened with six minutes left. Creighton’s Pop Isaacs drove right and had his shot blocked from behind by Byrd. Ryan Kalkbrenner, the Bluejays’ All-American center, grabbed the loose ball and shot. Gwath swatted that, too.

Davis and Byrd (16 points) were the only Aztecs in double figures, which merely illustrated how much of a team effort it was. Nine players scored, combining to shoot 48.4% overall and a blistering 8 of 17 behind the arc. Nine had at least two rebounds. Seven different players had assists. Six had blocks.

Creighton, by comparison, had only five players score, shot 33.9% from the field and finished 30 points under its season average. The absence of senior guard Steven Ashworth, out with a sprained ankle, was evident.

Ashworth is a career 39.1% shooter on 3s; the Bluejays went 6 of 31 on Tuesday.

He is 23 of 23 this season from the line; the Bluejays were 5 of 13.

He is averaging 16.0 points and 6.4 assists per game; his replacement, true freshman Ty Davis, took one shot, didn’t score and had two assists in 24 minutes.

“Arguably their most important player,” said Dutcher, who knows Ashworth well from his three years at Utah State. “He’s got my utmost respect. I tried to get him out of the (transfer) portal, and he wouldn’t come. That’s how much I loved him. He makes a difference.”

So does Kalkbrenner.

Dutcher and his staff had formulated a game plan against the 7-1 lefty, trying to wrap an arm around him in the post and bringing a double-team from the perimeter. Then they saw Creighton’s 74-63 home loss against unranked Nebraska on Friday night, saw how the Cornhuskers fully fronted him with aggressive backside help, saw how Kalkbrenner (who had 49 points in the season opener) took one shot in 39 minutes, and tweaked their approach while adding their own flavor.

Dutcher was not too proud to admit it: “We basically stole Nebraska’s game plan.”

The Aztecs assigned a weak-side player on each possession to be the “goalie,” meaning their job was to protect the basket if the Bluejays tried to throw over the top. (You could hear Aztecs players on defense saying, “I’m the goalie.”)

Kalkbrenner didn’t score until 1:04 left in the first half, and that was only because Gwath didn’t get around to front him. He was more effective in the second half but still finished with 11 points, 10 under his average, and the Bluejays were minus-21 points with him on the floor – worst on the team.

“When you have this (much time), especially leading up to a team that has a guy like Kalkbrenner, it allowed us a lot more time to go over scout,” Byrd said of the eight days between games. “We have a lot of new and young guys. That was a big plus for us, being able to get extra time.”

Another thing: They practiced all week with Wilson Evo basketballs that the Players Era Festival was using instead of their usual Nike balls and looked comfortable shooting them. Over the first 12 minutes of the second half, they shot 65% overall and 6 of 8 behind the arc.

Creighton had no answer.

Watching from the corner of the court was Oregon coach Dana Altman, whose team had the next game.

“San Diego State shot the heck out of it,” Altman said. “I hope they got that out of their system. They really shot it well. Dutch always does such a great job defensively. They had Creighton kind of bottled up inside.

“We know we’ll have our work cut out for us.”

Notable

The MGM Grand Garden Arena, the former site of the Pac-12 Tournament before T-Mobile Arena was built across the street, was downsized for this event, with the upper-level seats covered by black curtains.

• The Aztecs had a season-low eight turnovers, limiting Creighton’s transition opportunities, and a 9-0 advantage in fast-break points. … The score over the final 7:50: SDSU 4, Creighton 3. … SDSU has won 28 straight when holding its opponent under 60 points.

• Dutcher is now 3-1 against Creighton, and the lone loss was in overtime (in the 2022 NCAA Tournament).

• Davis became the second SDSU player under 6-2 since at least 1996-97 to have at least 18 points and nine rebounds in a game. The other: Malachi Flynn against UNLV in 2020.

• Only one of the three officials (Randy Richardson) regularly works SDSU games. The other two: James Breeding and Lucas Santos.

• The event’s unusual format means the two highest-rated teams here, No. 6 Houston and No. 9 Alabama, meet on the first day, meaning both can’t advance to the championship.

Originally Published: November 26, 2024 at 1:08 PM PST