San Diego State will be playing the New Mexico State Aggies this Thursday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The game will be played in Spokane and tip-off at 7:00 p.m. PST on TruTV. CBS Sports recruiting blogger Jeff Borzello has come out with his top 68 teams competing in the NCAA Tournament San Diego State came in 23rd place and New Mexico came in 56th place. The starting five for the Aztecs will be JJ O’Brien, Josh Davis, Skylar Spencer, Winston Shepard and Xavier Thames.

The Aztecs are still trying to improve with shooting from the floor and behind the arc.The Aztecs are shooting 43.7% 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 65.3%. The Aztecs have also been working harder this season on offensive and defensive rebounds. The Aztecs have out rebounded teams this year 1249 to 1083. San Diego State is ranked 13th in the Associated Press (AP) Top 25 Poll and is ranked 11th in the  USA Today Coaches Top 25 Poll. 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 38.4% and 28.7% 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.

Expert Picks:

***This section will be updated as the week goes on.***

SDSU is a (SIX) 6 point favorite over New Mexico State – via Vegas Odd Makers. 

Keys for Victory:

San Diego State University:

1) Shoot more than 45% 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 (A MUST)!

New Mexico State University

1) Force SDSU to shoot from the perimeter.

2) Force SDSU to commit turnovers.

3) Win the defensive battle of the boards.

4) Second chance points

5) Try and get SDSU to foul out.

 

Players to watch for San Diego State:

Xavier Thames (6-3 and 195 pound Senior): Thames is currently leading the Aztecs in points per game averaging 16.8 points and leading the Aztecs in assists per game with 3.1.

Winston Shepard (6-8 and 205 pound Sophomore): Shepard is currently in second place on the Aztecs in points per game averaging 12.1 points, has 5.2 rebounds per game and is in second place on the Aztecs in assists with 2.1 per game.

Josh Davis (6-8 and 215 pound Senior): Davis is currently in fourth place on the Aztecs in points per game averaging 7.7 points and lead’s the team in rebounds with 9.7 per game.

San Diego State Losses:

NCAA Tournament Bound Teams

Arizona (1st seed in the West)

New Mexico  X2 (7th seed in the South)

CBI:

Wyoming (CBI)

 

Players to watch for New Mexico State:

Daniel Mullings (6-2 and 170 pound Junior): Mullings is currently leading the Aggies in points per game averaging 16.7 points and leads the Aggies with 3.5 assists per game.

DK Eldridge (6-2 and 180 pound Junior): Eldrigde is currently in second place in points per game averaging 11.6, 4.6 rebounds per game and 1.9 assists per game.

Tshilidzi Nephawe (6-10 and 268 pound Red Shirt Junior): Nephawe is currently in third place in points per game averaging 11.1 points and currently leads the Aggies in rebounding with 7.9 per game.

New Mexico State Losses:

NCAA Tournament Bound Teams

Western Michigan (14th seed South)

New Mexico (7th seed in the South)

Gonzaga (8th seed in the West)

Arizona (1st seed in the West)

No Post Season

Colorado State 

Chicago State

Idaho

Kansas City

 

San Diego State and New Mexico State 

Name	Height	Team	Name	Height	Team
Winston Shepard	6-8	SDSU	Kevin Aronis	6-3	NMSU
Matt Shrigley	6-5	SDSU	Ian Baker	6-0	NMSU
Skylar Spencer	6-9	SDSU	Remi Barry	6-8	NMSU
JJ O’Brien	6-7	SDSU	Sim Bhullar	7-5	NMSU
Dwayne Polee II	6-7	SDSU	Tanveer Bhullar	7-3	NMSU
Dakarai Allen	6-5	SDSU	Matej Buovac	6-7	NMSU
Angelo Chol	6-9	SDSU	Renaldo Dixon	6-10	NMSU
Josh Davis	6-8	SDSU	DK Eldridge	6-2	NMSU
Aqeel Quinn	6-3	SDSU	Aaron Kubinski	6-5	NMSU
Xavier Thames	6-3	SDSU	Travon Landry	6-1	NMSU
Parker U’u	6-4	SDSU	Daniel Mullings	6-2	NMSU
James Johnson	6-10	SDSU	Tshilidzi Nephawe	6-10	NMSU
D’Erryl Williams	6-2	SDSU	K.C. Ross-Miller	6-1	NMSU
Niksha Federico	6-6	SDSU
Ryan Staten	6-1	SDSU
Kibret Woldemichael	5-7	SDSU
Desmond Maxwell	6-0	SDSU

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