BYU and San Diego State gear up for huge Mountain West Conference showdown
First place in the Mountain West Conference and the inside track towards a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament is on the line Saturday afternoon when the BYU Cougars visit the San Diego State Aztecs.
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#7 Brigham Young (26-2, 12-1 MWC) at #4 San Diego State (27-1, 12-1 MWC)
Date/Time: Saturday, February 26, 2011, 2:00 PM EST
Venue: Viejas Arena in San Diego, CA.
Broadcast: CBS
Spread: San Diego State -3
Over/Under: 141
The Aztecs have lost just one game all season long. That loss came at the hands of the Cougars by the score of 71-58 at the Marriott Center in Provo back on January 26. Both teams are ranked in the top ten in the national polls and the top five in the RPI rankings.
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The Cougars are led by the sensational Jimmer Fredette. The senior guard from Glens Falls, New York, is the top scorer in the entire country at 27.4 points per game. In the previous meeting between these teams, Fredette went off for 43 points on 14-for-24 shooting from the floor, including 5-of-8 from three-point range. On the season, Fredette is shooting 46.1 percent from the field and is hitting three-pointers at a 41.1 percent rate.
But Fredette isn’t an army unto himself. Jackson Emery is averaging 12.6 points per contest, and Brandon Davies chips in 11.4 points per game, along with grabbing a team-best 6.2 rebounds per contest.
Meanwhile, San Diego State hasn’t lost since falling to the Cougars last month. The Aztecs are undefeated in 13 home games, winning by an average margin of 19.5 points per victory. While Fredette is thought to be obvious choice for Mountain West player of the year, don’t discount the value of Kawhi Leonard to San Diego State. He leads the Aztecs in scoring at 15.2 points per game, fourth best in the MWC. Leonard is also averaging 10.7 rebounds per game, tops in the entire conference. In the loss to BYU, Leonard scored 22 points and grabbed 15 rebounds.
Leonard and the Aztecs will need a stronger performance from guard D.J. Gay. The senior from Sun Valley, California is averaging 12.1 points per game. But he only scored two points in the loss to BYU, struggling without a field goal.
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Matt’s Free Pick: San Diego -If the Aztecs can do a better job of taking advantage when they have second shot opportunities, they should win a close one at home. They recorded 14 offensive rebounds in that first matchup but only shot 35.5 percent for the game.
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I couldn’t go to Brigham Young University. How they kick Brandon Davies off the basketball team for having sex with his GF?!