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 learning to play with each other,

SDSU prevailed in 2023 to put them in the Final Four, while Creighton eliminated them the year before –the Blue Jays struggled to find their offensive rhythm and the Aztecs’ defense generated eight steals.