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Free NCAAB Winner; Utah (10-13) at (6) San Diego State (23-1) by the Sports Network
FACTS & STATS: Site: Viejas Arena (12,414) — San Diego, California. Television: The Mountain. Home Record: Utah 7-5, SDSU 11-0. Away Record: Utah 3-6, SDSU 8-1. Neutral Record: Utah 0-2, SDSU 4-0. Conference Record: Utah 3-6, SDSU 8-1. Series Record: Utah leads, 53-16.
GAME NOTES: Undefeated at home this season, the sixth-ranked San Diego State Aztecs suit up against the Utah Runnin’ Utes for a Mountain West Conference showdown at Viejas Arena tonight.
San Diego State, which is a perfect 11-0 at home thus far in 2010-11, has won 28 straight home dates versus unranked foes to this point, thanks in part to a 60-53 triumph over the TCU Horned Frogs on Saturday. The win was the third in a row for the program since suffering the only loss of the campaign at nationally-ranked BYU on January 26th by a score of 71-58. The Aztecs are currently tied with the Cougars, whom they will be hosting in this building on February 26th, for the top spot in the MWC standings at 8-1.
As for the Utes, they’ve been up and down all season and at the moment the team is trying to halt a three-game slide after having won three in a row. Over the weekend, the squad was dismissed by the Air Force Falcons at the Huntsman Center by a score of 54-49, dropping the program to 3-6 in MWC play, which means the Utes are seventh in the MWC standings entering this week.
SDSU won the first meeting of the season between the teams back on January 8th by a score of 71-62 in Salt Lake City. Malcolm Thomas carried much of the load for the Aztecs as he registered a double-double consisting of 17 points and 14 rebounds, while Kawhi Leonard and D.J. Gay contributed 20 and 18 points, respectively. Jay Watkins led all scorers with 24 points for the Utes, but they ended up shooting just 38.3 percent from the field and 4-of-15 beyond the arc in the meeting. Despite the victory for San Diego State, the team still trails in the all-time series versus Utah by a 53-15 margin.
Heading into last weekend the Utes were dealing with having produced their lowest scoring output of the season against UNLV, and then on Saturday Utah took it down another notch with a mere 49 points in the loss to the Falcons at home. The starting five for the Utes combined to shoot just 9-of-30 from the floor, the team finishing at 39.5 percent overall. Shawn Glover emerged as the lone double-digit scorer for the group with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting beyond the arc, getting the job done off the bench for the hosts. Before the meeting with Air Force, Will Clyburn had led the Utes in scoring in three straight and five of the previous six contests, so it only stands to reason that he’s at the top of the scoring list overall at the moment with his 18.3 ppg. A 42.1 percent shooter beyond the arc this season, Clyburn is also responsible for 8.6 rpg which makes him a tough matchup for nearly every defense that has to track him both on the perimeter and in the paint where he can be deadly for a group that is scoring almost 70 ppg entering tonight’s matchup.
The front line for the Aztecs did most of the work for the team over the weekend as Billy White (19 points), Malcolm Thomas (11) and Kawhi Leonard (11) combined to account for the majority of the team’s 60 points in the win over TCU. Thomas added 14 rebounds and Leonard cleared 10 for yet another double- double for the all-conference performer. D.J. Gay, who was recently named one of the 10 finalists for the 2011 Bob Cousy Award, finished with nine points and six assists in the triumph as well. Gay is currently second on the team in scoring with 11.9 ppg and is first in assists with 80. Perhaps more importantly, for someone who handles the ball as much as he does, Gay has been charged with just 29 turnovers thus far. Leonard is averaging a double-double with 15.0 points and 10.5 rebounds per game, both of which lead the team.
As long as Gay is directing the offense for the Aztecs and Leonard and Thomas are taking care of the action on the inside, a team like Utah has to catch lightning in a bottle in order to survive tonight.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: San Diego State 67, Utah 53. Get all your FREE NCAAB winners right here on www.aasiwins.com
