Utah State (20-7, 17-4) vs. No. 1 seed San Diego State (22-4, 16-3)
Mountain West Conference Tournament Championship, Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas; Saturday, 6 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Utah State and San Diego State are prepared to square off in the Championship of the MWC tournament. In the regular season, Utah State won both of the head-to-head matchups. The teams last played each other on Jan. 16, when San Diego State made just seven free throws on 15 attempts while the Aggies went 19 for 25 en route to a 64-59 victory.
BIG MEN ON CAMPUS: San Diego State’s Matt Mitchell has averaged 15.4 points and 5.5 rebounds while Jordan Schakel has put up 14.5 points and 4.4 rebounds. For the Aggies, Neemias Queta has averaged 15 points, 10.2 rebounds and 3.2 blocks while Justin Bean has put up 11.3 points and 7.8 rebounds.MIGHTY MATT: Mitchell has connected on 37.5 percent of the 80 3-pointers he’s attempted and has gone 5 for 12 over the last three games. He’s also converted 80.7 percent of his foul shots this season.
BEHIND THE ARC: San Diego State’s Schakel has attempted 163 3-pointers and connected on 47.2 percent of them, and is 10 of 16 over his last three games.
PASSING FOR POINTS: The Aggies have recently used assists to create buckets more often than the Aztecs. San Diego State has an assist on 41 of 69 field goals (59.4 percent) across its previous three contests while Utah State has assists on 48 of 71 field goals (67.6 percent) during its past three games.
STINGY STATE: Utah State has held opposing teams to 38.7 percent shooting from the field this year, the seventh-lowest percentage among all Division I teams. Over their six-game winning streak, the Aggies have held opposing shooters to 35.9 percent.
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