by Paul Casey Gotham
Setting: Sin City is the site for a Mountain West showdown as Steve Fisher and his Aztecs come calling on Lon Kruger and his host the Runnin’ Rebels. Tipoff is set for 10:30 pm EST on Tarkanian Court at the Thomas and Mack Center. Retired MLB pitcher and native of Las Vegas, Greg Maddux will be honored at halftime.
Plots: SDSU (15-5 / 5-2) and UNLV (17-4 / 5-2) find themselves locked in a three-way tie for first place with Utah. BYU is lurking at 4-3.
SDSU has an RPI of 53. UNLV’s RPI is 47.
Sub plots: Kruger and Fisher are more than familiar with getting teams prepared for March. Kruger is one of just four coaches to lead three different schools to the Sweet Sixteen including a Final Four berth with Florida in 1994. Fisher? Well yeah he won a title with Michigan back in ’89. Let’s just hope he has worked with his guys on timeout management. 🙂
UNLV has won their last four and SDSU has won their last two.
Three of UNLV’s losses have been by single digits including losses to Cincinnati and Colorado St. each by a deuce. The Rebs have knocked off Arizona, Louisville, and New Mexico.
Four of the Aztecs’ losses have been by single digits.
Flashback: UNLV leads the all-time series 31-12 including a sweep of the series last year and three of the most recent four meetings.
Conflict: SDSU is 15 th in the country in scoring defense holding opponents to 59 ppg. UNLV on the other hand scores 71 ppg. The Rebs have a turnover margin of +3.86. For SDSU their best defense might be their offense – take care of the ball and limit lay up chances for the Rebs.
Characters to watch: Kyle Spain and Lorenzo Wade each chip in 14 points per game for the Aztecs. Tim Shelton and Spain lead the way with five boards per game.
Wink Adams(13), Tre’Von Willis(11), and Rene Rogeau(10) contribute double digits each night for UNLV. Rogeau grabs seven boards per game.
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