The San Diego State Aztecs will play host to the Air Force Academy Falcons at Viejas Arena (12,414) this Saturday. The Aztecs (21-2; 10-1 Mountain West) will enter Saturday’s game as the favorites against Air Force (10-13; 4-8 Mountain West). The starting five for the Aztecs will be JJ O’Brien, Josh Davis, Skylar Spencer, Winston Shepard and Xavier Thames. The players to watch in Saturday’s game are Xavier Thames, Winston Shepard and Josh Davis. Xavier Thames enters the game against CSU averaging 17.9 points and 2.0 rebounds in 22 games this season. Winston Shepard enters the game against AFA averaging 12.8 points and 5.0 rebounds in 22 games this season. Josh Davis enters the game against CSU averaging 9.0 points and 10.9 rebounds in 21 games this season.

The Aztecs are still trying to improve with shooting from the floor and behind the arc. The Aztecs are shooting 44.0% from the floor and 35.8% from behind the arc. The Aztecs need major improvement in the free throw game but have improved their free throw shooting average to 65.5%. The Aztecs have also been working harder this season on offensive and defensive rebounds. The Aztecs have out rebounded teams this year 907 to 772. San Diego State is ranked 5th in the Associated Press (AP) Top 25 Poll and is ranked 5th in the  USA Today Coaches Top 25 Poll. This is just the second time in school history that the Aztecs have been ranked in the Top 5. The San Diego State Aztecs have one of the best field goal defense in the nation! San Diego State’s opponent’s has been averaging a field goal percentage of just 3.7% and 28.3% from beyond the arc. The Aztecs have been bringing massive press on opponent’s this season thanks to a very deep bench. This has allowed the Aztecs to use the full court press for a majority of every game.

The Falcons have some height on their team with Joe Tuss (6-8) , Ethan Michael (6-8),  Marek Olesinski (6-9) and Zach Moer (6-11). The smallest players on the Falcons team are Tre Coggins (6-2),  Scott Adler (6-3) and Zach Kocur (6-3). The key players to watch coming into Saturday’s game for AFA are Tre Coggins and Max Yon. Tre Coggins enters the game averaging 16.8 points and 2.7 rebounds in 20 games this season. Max Yon enters the game averaging 13.1 points and 3.4 rebounds in 23 games this season. The Falcons have a good-sized squad that will put up a fight on the boards against a talented Aztec squad.

Keys for Victory:

San Diego State University:

1) Shoot more than 40% from the floor!

2) Point’s in the paint!

3) Only shoot 3-point shot’s that are open!

4) Limit turnovers!

5) Attack the boards (Work on getting offensive rebounds)!

Air Force Academy 

1) Force SDSU to shoot from the perimeter.

2) Force SDSU to commit turnovers.

3) Win the offensive battle of the boards.

4) Try and get SDSU to foul out.

Notes:

Steve Fisher has won 302 games at San Diego State.

San Diego State has won 111 straight games when leading with five minutes left to play.

San Diego State is 70-6 at Viejas Arena since the name change in 2009.

San Diego State has a record of 29-4 when ranked in the Top 10

Game Day Information

February 15th Tipoff is at 5:05 p.m..  San Diego, California

TV: CBS Sports

Radio: Mighty 1090

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