Utah State, San Diego State Square Off Again For MWC Tournament Championship
Mar 7, 2020, 4:08 AM | Updated: 11:52 am
LAS VEGAS, Nevada – Now at the end of the road on the Mountain West Conference season, there’s no question that San Diego State and Utah State were the two best teams. So it’s only fitting the two teams meet once again for another Mountain West Conference Tournament Championship.
"March is certainly upon us."
A part of the madness comes with quick turnarounds. @USUBasketball already playing on Saturday at 2:30pm PT in the MW Championship game. But Coach Craig Smith told me that his team has been down this road before#AggiesAllTheWay #MWMadness @KSLSports pic.twitter.com/KGa4RxkOU8— Sam Farnsworth (@SFarnsworthKSL) March 7, 2020
Last year, it was the Aztecs who had an upset on their mind but couldn’t prevail over the more talented Aggies squad. Now it’s a role reversal. Utah State, even with Sam Merrill back and having yet another great MWC Tournament, is the team looking to play spoiler on Saturday afternoon at the Thomas & Mack.
The No. 5 ranked Aztecs are 28-1 on the season and have cruised through the opponents in the MWC schedule, including a pair of wins over Utah State by nine in the Spectrum and 12 on Kawhi Leonard on Montezuma Mesa.
Neither one of those games the past two months saw Utah State center Neemias Queta at full strength. After a dominant performance in Friday’s semifinals against Wyoming, Queta is close to full strength and it’s coming at the right time of the year.
What To Watch For: Utah State – San Diego State
Two of the best guards in the Mountain West Conference will battle on Saturday afternoon in Utah State’s Sam Merrill and MWC Player of the Year Malachi Flynn. Flynn, a transfer from Washington State, has been the immediate impact player that every program dreams of getting when signing a player out of the transfer portal. Flynn is averaging 17 points, five assists and four rebounds per game this season in a backcourt that also features Santa Clara transfer KJ Feagin.
Sam Merrill blocking out the haters. #AggiesAllTheWay | #MWMadness pic.twitter.com/Jy77F8OgoP
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) March 7, 2020
In the previous meetings this season against the Aztecs, Merrill has averaged 21 points and seven assists per game going up against the league’s best player in Flynn.
Both Utah State and San Diego State not only win, but they win big. The Aztecs and Aggies are second and eighth respectively in the scoring margin against opponents this season. If the game gets tight down the stretch, which team will fold and who will rise to the occasion?
Points will come at a premium against San Diego State. The Aztecs are number three in the country in scoring defense at allowing 59.1 points per game. It will be critical for Utah State to establish Neemias Queta and Justin Bean early and often in the post and also finding the smooth stroke from outside with guys like Brock Miller from deep.
Aggies seeking first back-to-back conference tournament titles in nearly two decades
If Utah State wins on Saturday against San Diego State, it would mark the first time in 19 years that the Aggies have won back-to-back conference tournament titles. You have to go back to 2001 when Utah State was in the Big West to find the last time the Aggies won automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament in consecutive years.
Win Or Go Home
The advanced metrics and analytics didn’t like Utah State’s win over quadrant four opponent Wyoming on Friday night. Utah State dropped four spots in the KenPom ratings after the semifinal victory. The only way for Utah State to ensure that they will have a ticket to the NCAA Tournament is by beating San Diego State on Saturday. Most Bracketology projections have USU on the outside looking in of the field of 68 heading into Saturday’s showdown. A loss, even if it’s close, to one of college basketball’s best teams might not be enough. So a win or go home game is on the line in Vegas.
Utah State vs. San Diego State
Mountain West Conference Tournament Championship Game
Tip: 3:30 p.m. (MST)
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