Your San Diego State Aztecs (2nd seed) will be playing the George Washington Colonials (4th seed) this Tuesday at 9:00 pm  (ET) in the semi-finals of the NIT (National Invitational Tournament). This will be the first ever meeting between the San Diego State Aztecs and the George Washington Colonials. (Although San Diego State and George Washington have no previous encounters on the hardwood, Fisher has faced the Colonials before. In the 1993 NCAA tournament, Fisher guided Michigan to a 72-64 victory in the Sweet 16 en route to an appearance in his second consecutive national championship game GoAztecs.) The winner of this game heads plays the winner of VALPO and BYU in the NIT Championship game. The game will be played at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY on Tuesday, March 29th on ESPN.

***SDSU and George Washington will be meeting for the 1st time in both schools history. ***

OFFENSIVE BREAKDOWN

The Aztecs are still trying to improve with shooting from the floor and behind the arc. The Aztecs are shooting 42.5% from the floor and 32.9% from behind the arc. The Aztecs need major improvement in the free throw game but have improved their free throw shooting average to 68.6%. The Aztecs are ranked 262nd 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 1435 to 1225.

The Colonials are shooting 44.7% from the floor and 36.9% from behind the arc. The Colonials average 7 made 3-point shots per game. The Colonials free throw shooting average is 75.1%. The Colonials have out rebounded teams this season 1368 to 1171. The Colonials average 75.9 points per game offensively.  The Colonials are ranked 107th nationally in scoring offense. The major difference offensively between the Colonials and the Aztecs would be shooting percentage from the floor, arc and free throw line. The Colonials are better than San Diego State in every offensive category but shooting percentage and rebounding. The Colonials shoot 2.2% better than SDSU from the floor, 4% better from behind the arc, and 6.5% better from the free-throw line.

In my opinion rebounding will determine if the Aztecs can take down George Washington. The Aztecs need to kill it on the offensive and defensive boards to help get the easy put backs. he Aztecs also need to get the Colonials bigs in foul trouble early like they did with Washington and Georgia Tech.

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 29.8% (5th best in the NCAA) from beyond the arc. The Aztecs are ranked 3rd nationally scoring defense allowing an average of 60.5 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.

George Washington’s opponent’s have been averaging a field goal percentage of 43.3% (156th best in the NCAA) and 33.7% (133rd best in the NCAA) from beyond the arc. The Colonials have held opponents to an average of 69.3 points per game this season. That 69.3. points average per game ranks George Washington as the 108th 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 George 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

 

George 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 12.7 points.

Jeremy Hemsley (6-3 and 180 pound Freshman): Hemsley is currently in second place on the Aztecs in points per game averaging 12.2 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 11.4 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 3.8 points, currently the 2nd best rebounder on the Aztecs with 5.6 rebounds per game and leads the Aztecs in blocked shots per game with 1.8. 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 George Washington:

Joe McDonald: (6-1 and 190 pound Senior): McDonald is currently in fourth place in points per game averaging 8.6 points and leads the Colonials in assists per game with 2.7.

San Diego State Notes Via GOAZTECS.COM:

Fisher is one of two active coaches to win both an NCAA and postseason NIT championship (John Calipari) and is looking to become just the second coach in history to win postseason NIT with two different teams (Dave Odom with Wake Forest and South Carolina).

* Shepard, the only SDSU player in school history to record 1,000 points, 700 rebounds and 300 assists, is playing the best basketball of his career. During the past seven games, he has averaged 14.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists, while shooting 47.2 percent.

* Kell has overcome flu-like symptoms earlier in the month and regained his all-conference form. In his last 24 games, he is averaging 15.5 points and 4.0 rebounds. In his past 13 games, he is 36-76 (47.4 percent) from three-point range.

* In his last eight games, Pope is averaging 13.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and is 17-31 (54.8 percent) from three-point distance.

 

George Washington Notes VIA GWSPORTS.COM:

The Colonials, a postseason participant for the third straight year, have been led this season by Cavanaugh, who leads the team in scoring at 16.8 points per game. He has reached double figures in every game, ranks third in the A-10 in three-point shooting (.424) and has eight 20-point games (including three straight) and one 30-point game this season.

Garino is the second-best three-point shooter in the Atlantic 10 at .433, while averaging a career-best 14.2 ppg. Larsen ranks second in the A-10 with 13 double-doubles, and is second on the team with 97 assists, including 24 the last four games.

The Colonials are the only team in Division I with six 1,000 points scorers on their roster. Joe McDonald became the 47th member of GW’s 1,000 point club when he knocked down his first shot of the game at VCU. McDonald (1,132) joined Garino (1,523) and Larsen (1,445) on the list. Grad student and Dartmouth transfer Alex Mitola has scored 1,198 in his career. Hamilton College transfer Matt Hart (1,021) hit the mark at Duquesne. Cavanaugh (1,052) joined the club vs. Hofstra.

 

Game Day Information

Game information: Tipoff 9:00 p.m. ET at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY.

TV: ESPN

Radio: Mighty 1090

Odds: San Diego State by 3

OFFICIAL SDSU WATCH PARTIES

SDSU ALUMNI WATCH PARTIES:

Werewolf American Pub
627 Fourth Ave
San Diego, CA 92101

The Hills Local Pub
8758 La Mesa Blvd
La Mesa, CA 91942

Lumberyard Tavern
967 S Coast Hwy 101 #101
Encinitas, CA 92024

AZTEC CLUB WATCH PARTIES:

Hooleys Irish Pub & Grill
5500 Grossmont Center Drive
La Mesa, CA 91942
(619) 713-6900
http://www.hooleys.com

Karl Strauss
1157 Columbia St
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 234-2739

5985 Santa Fe St
San Diego, CA 92109
(858) 273-2739
http://www.karlstrauss.com

KnB Wine Cellars
6380 Del Cerro Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92120
(619) 286-0321
http://www.knbwinecellars.com

McGregor’s Grill and Ale House
10475 San Diego Mission Rd
San Diego, CA 92108
(619) 282-9797
http://mcgregorssandiego.com/

Niolosi’s Italian Restaurant
7005 Navajo Rd.
San Diego, CA 92119
(619) 461-5757
http://www.nicolosis.com

Old Town Mexican Cafe
2489 San Diego Ave.
San Diego, CA 92110
(619) 297-4330
http://www.oldtownmexciancafe.com

The Pony Room – Rancho Valencia Resort
5921 Valencia Circle
Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067
(858) 756-1123
http://www.ranchovalencia.com

Tequila Factory Restaurant & Cantina
2479 Juan St.
San Diego, CA 92110
(619) 260-8124
http://www.oldtowntequilafactory.com

Tilted Kilt
1640 Camino Del Rio N
San Diego, CA 92108
(619) 299-5458
http://www.tiltedkilt.com

San Diego State and Georgia Tech Rosters 

Name	Height	Team	Name	Height	Team
Skylar Spencer	6-10	SDSU	Alex Mitola	5-11	GW
Angelo Chol	6-9	SDSU	Paul Jorgensen	6-2	GW
Dakarai Allen	6-5	SDSU	Anthony Swan	6-7	GW
Max Hoetzel	6-9	SDSU	Yuta Watanabe	6-8	GW
D’Erryl Williams	6-3	SDSU	Patricio Garino	6-6	GW
Trey Kell	6-4	SDSU	Jordan Roland	6-1	GW
Winston Shepard	6-8	SDSU	Kevin Larsen	6-10	GW
Zylan Cheatham	6-9	SDSU	Joe McDonald	6-1	GW
Ben Perez	6-3	SDSU	Jaren Sina	6-2	GW
Matt Shrigley	6-6	SDSU	Matt Hart	6-1	GW
Malik Pope	6-10	SDSU	Collin Goss	6-10	GW
Parker U’u	6-5	SDSU	Tyler Cavanaugh	6-9	GW
Montaque Gill-Caesar	6-6	SDSU	Matt Cimino	6-10	GW
Nolan Narain	6-9	SDSU
Niksha Federico	6-7	SDSU
Jeremy Hemsley	6-3	SDSU

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