We have Mountain West Conference action in Sin City to look forward to as the No. 21 San Diego State Aztecs hit the road to battle the UNLV Rebels. Tipoff is set for 11 p.m. ET and the game will air on CBS Sports Network. SDSU defeated UNLV 72-61 in their first matchup back on January 6.
San Diego State (22-7, 11-5 MWC) has won four of its last five heading into this showdown and was last triumphant in a 72-64 victory over San Jose State last Tuesday. The Aztecs maintained control throughout this contest and notably, they limited the Spartans to just two free throw attempts for the entire evening. Jaedon LeDee went off for 27 points and 11 rebounds in the win.
UNLV (18-10, 11-5 MWC) has won four in a row going into this battle and also downed San Jose State in a 68-50 blowout victory on Saturday. The Rebels never trailed in the contest as they held the last-place Spartans to just 32.1% shooting for the game. Luis Rodriguez had himself a night with 19 points and nine rebounds.
The Aztecs were able to win the first matchup between these two squads by holding the Spartans to under 40% shooting for the night. This should be a defensive-oriented contest as this is a battle of two of the more efficient defenses in the entire conference. SDSU in particular are holding league opponents to just 47.1% in eFG% and has a league-high 18.1% in turnover rate. However, the team is shooting a league worst 30.6% from three and will have an issue if it isn’t able to consistently score from two.
What this game means for San Diego State
San Diego State is still right in the mix for the Mountain West Conference regular season title, but is sitting a game behind Utah State and Boise State for first place. If the Aztecs can take care of business in their final two games and have one of those teams drop a game, they’ll at least get a really favorable seed for the MWC tournament next week.
What this game means for UNLV
UNLV has battled its way back into the conference title conversation, which is a testament to how it has turned things around after struggling at the beginning of league play. Even with four Quad 1 wins on their resume, the Runnin’ Rebs are still considered out of the NCAA Tournament field in the eyes of bracket experts. A win here would go a long way towards putting them on the bubble.
San Diego State vs. UNLV odds from DraftKings Sportsbook
Spread: San Diego State -2.5
Total: 135.5
Moneyline: SDSU -148, UNLV +124
Pick: Under 135.5
Both teams operate at slow tempos on both sides of the floor and this game could be a grind as both can stall out on offense for extended periods of time. For that, I’ll go with the under cashing in Las Vegas tonight.