No. 23 San Diego State, Cal square off in San Jose nightcap

No. 23 San Diego State and Cal will look for a momentum-builder when they complete the non-conference portion of their schedules Saturday in the nightcap of the four-team San Jose Tip-Off in California.The first game of the tournament will pit Stanford against No. 10 Oregon.The Aztecs (7-2) will attempt to beat the Golden Bears (7-4) for the second time in 13 months, having recorded a 76-67 triumph at another neutral site — San Juan Capistrano, Calif. — last November.San Diego State’s five leading scorers from that game won’t play in the rematch. Four no longer are with the team, while Reese Waters, who had 24 points in the win, has yet to suit up this season because of a stress fracture in his right foot.That makes Miles Byrd, who had four points against Cal last season, the game’s top returning scorer. Now a sophomore, Byrd leads the Aztecs with a 13.1 scoring average.Cal no longer suits up any of the 10 players who saw action against San Diego State last year. The Golden Bears have all transfers and freshmen this season.Not surprising given their high amount of player turnover, both teams have struggled with consistency.While earning a national ranking on the strength of wins over then-No. 21 Creighton and then-No. 6 Houston late last month, the Aztecs have beaten Fresno State, UC San Diego and, most recently, Cal Baptist 81-75 on Dec. 11.With a matchup with once-beaten Utah State looming in the Mountain West Conference opener on Dec. 28, San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher hopes to see improvement over the effort against Cal Baptist.”I’m just trying to get a young team better,” he said of the Aztecs, who have a four-game winning streak. “I have to coach them without tearing their confidence down, but being realistic with them.”I like this team a lot, but obviously we’re entering a really tough three-game stretch with Cal, and then Utah State at home, and then Boise (State) on the road. We always get better as the season goes on. That’s the thing I like about our program.”