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SDSU vs. No. 6 Houston
When: 4 p.m. Saturday
Where: MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas
On the air: TNT; 760-AM
Series history: SDSU leads 2-1. Houston won the most recent meeting, 67-65 in the opening round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament.
Aztecs update: The last of arguably the hardest four-game stretch in program history, going from No. 3-ranked Gonzaga (80-67 loss) to No. 21 Creighton (71-53 win) to soon-to-ranked Oregon (78-68 loss) to No. 6 Houston. “This is a chance to get a resume win against a team ranked in the top 10 in the country,” coach Brian Dutcher said. “We don’t get that many opportunities like this. We have to look forward to it and embrace it.” If they hope to win, they’ll have to rebound better than they did against Oregon, losing the battle of the boards 41-24 and being outscored 18-4 in second-chance points. Houston doesn’t start a 7-footer like Creighton and Oregon, but its frontline is long, strong, physical, athletic and tough. At the other end, SDSU must find ways to score with its offense pushed out toward midcourt and ball screens aggressively blitzed. They’ll also have to get more production from their bigs, none of whom rank in the top five on the team in scoring and an outsized share of turnovers for guys who don’t regularly handle the ball. The Aztecs are currently No. 45 in Kenpom and projected as 68-59 losers Saturday.
Cougars update: They entered the Players Era Festival ranked No. 1 in the Kenpom metric and have since slipped to No. 3 following an 85-80 overtime loss against Alabama on Tuesday, followed by a 65-54 win against Notre Dame on Wednesday. This is essentially the same team that went 32-5 and was a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, then lost in the Sweet 16 against Duke after leading scorer Jamal Shead sprained an ankle. Four other starters are back: LJ Cryer (13.5 points), Emanuel Sharp (13.0), J’Wan Roberts (10.2) and Ja’Vier Francis. To that, they added Oklahoma transfer guard Milos Uzan. And the bench, on most nights, goes 10 or 11 deep. The Cougars are known for their defense, currently No. 3 in Kenpom defensive efficiency and holding opponents to 57.0 points, but their offense isn’t bad, either. They have finished in the top 25 in offensive efficiency for the previous six seasons and are 14th now, largely because they’re making 41.8% of their 3s.
Next up: Wednesday at Fresno State (7:30 p.m., FS1)
–MARK ZEIGLER
Originally Published:
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