Aztecs Wary of Improved Air Force

In discussing tonight’s Western Athletic Conference basketball game against the Air Force Academy (7:30 at the San Diego Sports Arena), San Diego State Coach Jim Brandenburg likes to point to the Falcons’ recent loss to Connecticut.

The more times Brandenburg tells the story, the better the Falcons play.

On Wednesday, he said Air Force played Connecticut “real close.” The next night, after the Aztecs opened their WAC season with a 62-57 victory over Colorado State, Brandenburg said that he wasn’t sure, but he thought “it was a 4- or 5-point game.” By practice Friday afternoon, the lead had shrunk to “about two points,” according to assistant Ed Campbell.

Actually, Air Force lost to Connecticut, the defending National Invitation Tournament champion, by 13 (68-55) in Hartford Dec. 29.

While the exact score might be lost on Brandenburg, he is hoping the point is not lost on his team. It is his way of saying that the Falcons have improved since they were eliminated by Hawaii in the preliminary game of last season’s WAC tournament.

Brandenburg said he was told as much before Thursday’s game by Colorado State Coach Boyd Grant: “Coach Grant said, ‘Don’t overlook Air Force. You can’t take them for granted. They are five times better than they were last year.’ ”

The Falcons return three starters--guard Raymond Dudley and forwards Chad Kimble and Mike Lockwood--from a team that was 11-17 and 4-12, eighth in the WAC. Dudley, a 6-foot junior guard, leads the WAC in scoring at 26.8 points per game and has been held below 20 only once (18 in a 73-64 loss at Xavier).

Air Force is coming off an 83-81 double overtime loss in its WAC opener at Hawaii Thursday night. It was the Falcons’ second loss in a row and dropped their record to 8-4. That is the second-best start in Coach Reggie Minton’s five seasons at Air Force, but four victories have come against non-Division I opponents.

Senior center Mitch McMullen continues to lead the Aztecs in scoring (17.5 points per game) and rebounding (9.2). His 17-point, 8-rebound performance against Colorado State was the sixth time in 11 games he has led the Aztecs (7-4, 1-0 in WAC) in both categories.