The best start in school history dented by a tough loss to Jimmer Fredette and No. 9 BYU, the fourth-ranked San Diego State Aztecs vow to get back on another winning streak.
That chance starts Saturday when the Aztecs (20-1, 5-1 Mountain West Conference) host the lowly Wyoming Cowboys (8-12, 1-5).
''You better be able to do that. Forgive but don't forget,'' coach Steve Fisher said Friday. ''We can do nothing about 43 points by Fredette. We've got to say, 'What can we do to get a win against Wyoming?' and we'll have another opportunity. Hopefully, it'll be as significant leading into it as it was this week.''
The good news is, the Aztecs won't see Fredette again until Feb. 26, when BYU plays at SDSU.
''Our charge is to come out and play with the toughness, conviction and passion that we've shown when we've been here and not have any residual from a hard loss at BYU,'' Fisher said. ''That's our intent and that's what I'm positive we will do. We look forward to starting a new win streak. That's our challenge.''
The Aztecs didn't shoot well and had 12 turnovers in the 71-58 loss at BYU on Wednesday night.
''If you're going to win against a team in their building who's really good, you have to be close to your A game and that was probably them,'' Fisher said. ''We had 10 chippies at the rim that were either blocked or we missed and that can't happen. We had 12 turnovers to their 7. We have to flip that around. We controlled the pace of the game. It was the pace we wanted but we were not able to get a win. We just weren't quite good enough.''
SDSU's loss left No. 1 Ohio State as the only undefeated team in Division I.
''The last game hurt but it shows everybody we still have room for improvement,'' guard D.J. Gay said. ''We still have a lot of work to do. They are a very good team. I would definitely say they could be the best team we've played so far. We have to learn from it and wait for our next chance.''
Sophomore forward Kawhi Leonard had another double-double, with 22 points and 15 rebounds, despite being ill enough that he needed IVs before the game.
''I feel way better,'' Leonard said Friday. ''Me and the athletic trainer were talking. When I go to the high altitudes, my body feels different. My stomach feels kinda weird. I got back yesterday and took a little medicine and feel better.''
Now the Aztecs have to get that feeling about the way they play.
''Everybody was down,'' forward Malcolm Thomas said. ''Nobody really wants to lose. We just talked about things that we could have done different. We're not trying to hang our heads too long because we've got a game on Saturday and we can't slack. We've just got to get prepared.''
