On Saturday, UNLV Basketball will get the chance to hand San Diego State their first loss of the season and at the same time jump atop the standings in the Mountain West. Here are some keys to an upset win.
Arguably the most highly-touted game in the Mountain West so far this season will take place at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas on Sunday when the two biggest surprises in the conference, No. 4 and undefeated San Diego State takes on UNLV Basketball.
Brian Dutcher’s Aztecs (20-0, 9-0) were picked to finish 2nd behind Utah State, but not many expected them to be undefeated* at this point in the season. T.J. Otzelberger’s Runnin’ Rebels (11-10, 6-2) were picked to finish 7th but they are currently 2nd in the conference with a chance to pull within a game in the loss column of the Aztecs with a win.
San Diego State has methodically climbed the rankings this season, but they have earned the ranking with only two of their 20 wins coming by fewer than nine points including a two-point home win over San Jose State. But it’s the Aztecs’ defense has been their staple, they have given up 56 points per game, which is the fourth-lowest total in the sport.
When Otzelberger was hired by UNLV this summer most thought it was a good hire but it would take him a few seasons to get things moving in the right direction. During the early portion of the schedule, it looked as though the Runnin’ Rebels’ rebuild could be a long road after a 5-8 start, but after a loss to Pacific, something clicked. UNLV has won eight of their last ten including wins over New Mexico and Utah State, entering this game they have been winning handily with only two wins being by single digits.
UNLV may be in the midst of pushing up their rebuild timeline and handing San Diego State their first loss would be the biggest win of the Otzelberger era. In order to do so they will have to play their best game of the year against their toughest opponent, here are some of the biggest keys to UNLV pulling off the upset.