San Diego St. faces Utah State in MWC finals
No. 2 seed Utah State (25-8, 14-6) vs. No. 1 seed San Diego State (30-1, 19-1)
Mountain West Conference Tournament Championship, Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas; Saturday, 5:30 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Utah State is set to meet San Diego State in the Championship of the MWC tourney. San Diego State won both of the regular season matchups earlier this season. The teams last played on Feb. 1, when the Aztecs shot 48.1 percent from the field and went 14 for 32 from 3-point territory en route to an 80-68 victory.
SUPER SENIORS: Utah State’s Sam Merrill, Justin Bean and Diogo Brito have collectively accounted for 51 percent of the team’s scoring this season, including 73 percent of all Aggies points over the last five games.
OFFENSIVE THREAT: Malachi Flynn has either made or assisted on 52 percent of all San Diego State field goals over the last five games. Flynn has accounted for 35 field goals and 28 assists in those games.
WINNING WHEN: Utah State is a perfect 22-0 when its defense holds opponents to a field goal percentage of 42.9 percent or less. The Aggies are 3-8 when allowing opponents to shoot any better than that.
ASSIST-TO-FG RATIO: The Aggies have recently converted buckets via assists more often than the Aztecs. San Diego State has 42 assists on 81 field goals (51.9 percent) across its past three outings while Utah State has assists on 49 of 80 field goals (61.3 percent) during its past three games.
STINGY STATE: San Diego State has held opposing teams to 59.5 points per game this year, the fifth-lowest figure among all Division I teams.
