Your San Diego State Aztecs (2nd seed) will be playing the Washington Huskies (3rd seed) this Monday at 8:30 pm in the second round of the NIT (National Invitational Tournament). The game will be played here in San Diego, California, on Monday, March 21st on ESPN 2. General public tickets go on sale at 9 a.m. PT on Friday and start at $10. Tickets are available online at GoAztecs.com and at the Viejas Arena ticket office.

***Washington and #SDSU last played on December 7th, 20014 in Washington. The Aztecs lost that game to the Huskies 49 to 36***

OFFENSIVE BREAKDOWN

The Aztecs are still trying to improve with shooting from the floor and behind the arc. The Aztecs are shooting 42.4% from the floor and 32.2% from behind the arc. The Aztecs need major improvement in the free throw game but have improved their free throw shooting average to 68.7%. The Aztecs are ranked 277th nationally in scoring offense. The Aztecs have also been working harder this season on offensive and defensive rebounds. The Aztecs have out rebounded teams this year 1355 to 1157.

The Huskies are shooting 42.7% from the floor and 33.2% from behind the arc. The Huskies average 7 made 3-point shots per game. The Huskies free throw shooting average is 72.6%. The Huskies have been out rebounded by  teams this year 1318 to 1388. The Huskies average 84.1 points per game offensively. The Huskies are ranked 7th nationally in scoring offense. The major difference offensively between the Huskies and the Aztecs would be shooting percentage from the floor, arc and free throw line. The Huskies are hands and feet better than San Diego State in every offensive category but rebounding. The Huskies shoot .3% better from the floor, 1% better from behind the arc, and 4% better from the free-throw line.

In my opinion rebounding will determine if the Aztecs can take down Washington. The Aztecs need to kill it on the offensive and defensive boards to help get the easy put backs. The Aztecs have a slight size advantage over Washington and they will need to exploit that.

 

DEFENSIVE BREAKDOWN:

 

The San Diego State Aztecs have one of the best field goal defenses in the nation! Aztecs opponents have been averaging a field-goal percentage defense of just 37.1% (best in NCAA) and 30.1% (7th best in the NCAA) from beyond the arc.

The Aztecs have held opponents to an average of 60.3 points per game this season. That’s 7 points more per game than last seasons team. The Aztecs are ranked 4th nationally scoring defense allowing an average of 60.3 points per game. The Aztecs have been bringing massive press on opponents 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.

Washington’s opponent’s have been averaging a field goal percentage of 43.0% (145th best in the NCAA) and 32.6% (76th best in the NCAA) from beyond the arc. The Huskies have held opponents to an average of 80.5 points per game this season. That 80.5. points average per game ranks Washington as the 330th best scoring defense in the nation.

As you can tell by the statistics given above San Diego State is in another league defensively compared to Washington.

KEYS FOR VICTORY:

San Diego State University:

1) Shoot more than 45% from the floor!

2) Points in the paint!

2) Only shoot 3-point shots that are open!

3) Limit turnovers!

4) Attack the boards !

5) Make free throws

 

Washington

1) Force SDSU to shoot from the perimeter.

2) Force SDSU to commit turnovers.

3) Win the defensive battle of the boards.

4) Try and get SDSU to foul out.

5) Make free throws.

 

Players to watch for San Diego State:

Trey Kell (6-4 and 210 pound Sophomore): Kell currently leads the Aztecs in points per game averaging 12.5 points.

Jeremy Hemsley (6-3 and 180 pound Freshman): Hemsley is currently in second place on the Aztecs in points per game averaging 12.3 points and is in second place on the Aztecs in assists per game with 1.8.

Winston Shepard (6-8 and 210 pound Senior): Shepard is currently in third place on the Aztecs in points per game averaging 11.1 points, currently leads the Aztecs in rebounds with 6.5 rebounds per game and leads the Aztecs in assists per game with 3.0.

Skylar Spencer (6-10 and 240 pound Senior): Spencer is currently in eighth place on the Aztecs in points per game averaging 3.7 points, currently the 2nd best rebounder on the Aztecs with 5.7 rebounds per game and leads the Aztecs in blocked shots per game with 1.7. Spencer holds the San Diego State/Mountain West record for most blocks in a career  Spencer was named the Mountain West Defensive POY in 2015 and 2016. He became just the 3rd player in Mountain West History to win Defensive POY in back to back seasons.

Players to watch for Washington:

 

 

Game Day Information

Game information: Tipoff 8:30 p.m. PT at Viejas Arena in San Diego, California.

TV: ESPN 2

Radio: Mighty 1090

San Diego State and Washington Rosters 

Name	Height	Team	Name	Height	Team
Skylar Spencer	6-10	SDSU	Andrew Andrews	6-2	Wash
Angelo Chol	6-9	SDSU	Matthew Atewe	6-8	Wash
Dakarai Allen	6-5	SDSU	Greg Bowman	6-5	Wash
Max Hoetzel	6-9	SDSU	Marquese Chriss	6-9	Wash
D’Erryl Williams	6-3	SDSU	David Crisp	6-0	Wash
Trey Kell	6-4	SDSU	Noah Dickerson	6-8	Wash
Winston Shepard	6-8	SDSU	Malik Dime	6-9	Wash
Zylan Cheatham	6-9	SDSU	Donaven Dorsey	6-5	Wash
Ben Perez	6-3	SDSU	Devenir Duruisseau	6-8	Wash
Matt Shrigley	6-6	SDSU	KJ Garrett	6-3	Wash
Malik Pope	6-10	SDSU	Dominic Green	6-6	Wash
Parker U’u	6-5	SDSU	Dan Kingma	5-10	Wash
Montaque Gill-Caesar	6-6	SDSU	Joe Knight	6-9	Wash
Nolan Narain	6-9	SDSU	Dejounte Murray	6-4	Wash
Niksha Federico	6-7	SDSU	Matisse Thybulle	6-5	Wash
Jeremy Hemsley	6-3	SDSU	Sam Timmins	6-10	Wash

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