SDSU vs. New Mexico
When: 8 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Viejas Arena
On the air: Fox Sports 1; 760-AM
Records: SDSU is 18-7 (11-5), New Mexico is 22-5 (14-2)
Series history: New Mexico leads 52-45, winning two straight and four of the last six. That includes the 62-48 decision in Albuquerque on Jan. 11 and the final of the 2024 Mountain West tournament. Only two players scored in double figures — Miles Byrd (14) and Jared Coleman-Jones (10) — and no one had more than four rebounds.
Aztecs update: They try to avenge their most lopsided loss of the season, a game in which they played solid defense (New Mexico shot 35.8%) but were crushed on the offensive boards (18-3) allowing the Lobos to attempt 19 more shots. They have been playing better lately, even in the 79-71 loss at Utah State on Saturday — overcoming a 14-point deficit after the shock of losing Magoon Gwath and leading 69-65 inside four minutes to go. With 14 points, BJ Davis had his highest scoring effort in 12 games, and the Aztecs were plus-26 points with him on the floor. Nick Boyd has emerged from a midseason slump, averaging 18.8 points and 4.8 assists while shooting 54.0% over his last four games. Boyd (12.8 points) has nudged past Miles Byrd (12.7) as the team’s leading scorer. The Aztecs are most likely headed to the No. 3, 4 or 5 seed in the Mountain West tournament, trailing third-place Colorado State by one game and tied with Boise State for fourth. There’s a three-game gap to UNLV in sixth, so SDSU is all but assured of avoiding the Wednesday play-in game for those that finish sixth or below. The game matches the conference’s highest-scoring offense (New Mexico at 82.9 points per game) against its stingiest defense (SDSU at 63.1). SDSU has not been swept in the season series by the Lobos since 2017.
Lobos update: They have so far avoided the February swoon that plagued them the recent years, going 3-3 in the month last season and 2-6 the season before. Their only conference losses are 71-70 at San Jose State on Jan. 14 and 86-78 at Boise State last Wednesday. They had a weekend bye, so this is their first game since. The big question is whether senior forward Mustapha Amzil (12.1 points, 5.5 rebounds) will return after missing two games with a foot injury. They already are not a particularly deep team, and Amzil’s absence makes them susceptible to foul trouble or fatigue. Guard Donovan Dent, who leads the conference in scoring (19.6) and is second in assists (6.5), is the favorite for Mountain West player of the year. Nigerian senior center Nelly Junior Joseph is averaging a double-double at 13.5 points and a conference-leading 10.5 rebounds per game. The other starters, if Amzil can’t go, are 6-foot-2 Tru Washington (11.5 points), 6-9 Arizona transfer Filip Borovicanin (career-high 18 points vs. Boise State) and 6-10 freshman Jovan Milicevic. The Lobos prefer to play fast, leading the nation in fast-break points (17.3 per game) and ranking fourth in average possessions (SDSU is 255th). The Kenpom metric projects a 73-69 Aztecs win even though the Lobos are slightly higher (37 vs. 42) because of the venue.
Next up: Saturday at Wyoming (5 p.m. PST, CBSSN)
— MARK ZEIGLER
