A couple of West Coast heavyweights outside of the major power football conferences — San Diego State and St. Mary’s — will hook up on Friday in Phoenix with each looking for a big win to help its case for an at-large NCAA Tournament bid.
The Gaels and Aztecs play similar styles, with each residing in the bottom 100 of the country in possessions per game and each having allowed 59 ppg or fewer in four of its past five games.
On a per-possession basis, San Diego State has the better defense, ranking 17th in the country in points allowed, but the Aztecs are worse on offense, ranking 280th in points scored on a per-possession basis.
St. Mary’s has the upper hand on the glass, ranking 35th in the country in rebound rate compared to 180th for San Diego State. The Gaels have allowed opponents to rebound just 17.8 percent of their missed shots, which ranks seventh nationally.
With San Diego State making just 29.3 percent of its 3-point shots and the Gaels having five different players averaging more than 9.0 ppg, St. Mary’s will take this battle of West Coast stalwarts.
The play: St. Mary’s, -2.5