San Diego State basketball: 2019-20 keys to finish strong vs Nevada

San Diego State Basketball: 2019-20 keys vs Nevada in regular season finale

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 11: Matt Mitchell #11 of the San Diego State Aztecs cuts a piece of the net after defeating New Mexico Lobos 82-59 in a game at Viejas Arena on February 11, 2020 in San Diego, California. San Diego State Aztecs moves to 25-0 for the season and clinched a share of the Mouintain West Championship. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

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BOISE, ID – FEBRUARY 16: Guard RayJ Dennis #10 of the Boise State Broncos (Photo by Loren Orr/Getty Images) /

Defend The 3

Another issue we saw from SDSU in their game against Colorado State was that they gave CSU too many open looks from the 3 point line. This was a big part of how the Rams built up their lead early in the game. The defense adjusted at halftime and held CSU to 1/10 from 3 in the second half, but if they give Nevada open looks in their home gym like the ones they gave to CSU in the first half, it’s going to be a long night for the Aztec defense.

Nevada shoots the 12th best 3 point percentage in the country and the best in the Mountain West at 38.2%. That means that they are going to take advantage of every sliver of daylight SDSU gives them behind the arc, especially on their home floor.

To prevent this from happening, SDSU should take the same approach that Wyoming did against Nevada on Tuesday night. They should force the Wolf Pack to become a driving team by fighting over ball screens and not helping when Nevada’s guards attack the basket. This strategy kept Wyoming in the game on Tuesday night and SDSU is simply a far superior team and defense to what the Cowboys have to offer.

If SDSU can force the Wolf Pack to try to score inside then it should make it really difficult for Nevada to manufacture offense and go on the scoring runs that have helped them build leads throughout the season. The strategy should be particularly effective in slowing down Jazz Johnson, who actually shoots a slightly higher percentage from 3 than from 2. With Malachi Flynn and KJ Feagin defending him, he should have a tough time getting to the basket even without any help side defense.

The most important thing SDSU needs to do on the defensive end in this game is make sure that Nevada doesn’t burn them from 3 like they’ve done to just about every other team they’ve played in Reno this year.