Nevada vs San Diego State: 2021 Mountain West game preview, TV schedule
By Joey Loose
Nevada and San Diego State meet in the first Mountain West Tournament semifinal; who will prevail?
TV schedule: Friday, March 12, 9:30 pm ET. CBSSN
Arena: Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada
There are four NCAA Tournament contenders in the Mountain West, but instead, it’s Nevada (16-9) who finds themselves in the MWC semifinals. The Wolf Pack finished 5th place in the league but will certainly not make the NCAA Tournament without winning the conference tournament. After taking care of Boise State on Thursday, maybe it’s a possibility for this upstart group.
The stars were shining for the Wolf Pack against Boise State, led by a 31-point outburst from junior guard Desmond Cambridge Jr. (15.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg). Perennial super scorer Grant Sherfield (18.0 ppg, 6.2 apg) had a fantastic first half, putting up 26 points in the victory. Nevada can also expect contributions from sophomore forward Warren Washington (9.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg) who himself had 18 points on Thursday.
Nevada is up to 86th in KenPom, and some recent impressive offensive showings have certainly helped improve their rankings. They play at a relatively quick pace, though their defense hasn’t exactly slowed anyone down in recent weeks. Nevada has allowed at least 82 points in three straight outings. They already pulled one upset, but toppling the Aztecs will be another story.
Though this isn’t the same team as last year, San Diego State (21-4) remains the Mountain West’s best team and is looking to take care of business this time in the MWC Tournament. They dispatched of Wyoming on Thursday, though the contest was much closer than many anticipated. With the Aztecs likely already having secured an NCAA Tournament bid, is the pressure on them instead of the Wolf Pack?
For the Aztecs, a pair of studs from last year’s team have continued their dominant play this season. Senior forward Matt Mitchell (15.4 ppg, 5.5 rpg) was named Mountain West Player of the Year, though he had a limited impact in the game against the Cowboys. Senior guard Jordan Schakel (14.4 ppg, 4.2 rpg) has been the Aztec’s most potent offensive weapon. San Diego State gets solid play up and down the lineup, including a 20-point performance Thursday from senior guard Terell Gomez (8.3 ppg, 2.4 apg).
San Diego State has spent the last few weeks back in the AP Top 25 and has worked their way up to 24th in the KenPom rankings. They continue to have one of the nation’s best defenses; it’s been on full display during their current 12-game winning streak. The Aztecs need to play a little better than against Wyoming, especially at limiting their opponent’s ability to create easier shots.
For the Wolf Pack, this game is more important, but that doesn’t mean the pressure is on them. After yesterday’s performance, San Diego State will want to get off to a much faster start and to put away the doubt early. Nevada will need to make their shots right out the gate. If their defense plays poorly again, the Aztecs could turn this into a laugher pretty quickly. However, if they can contain Mitchell and limit the other options, perhaps their offense could keep up with these Aztecs.
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On paper, this should be an exciting game that the Aztecs should prevail. They took care of business against the Wolf Pack twice back in early January, though both games came down to the wire. Expect a better early performance from the Aztecs, which could spell early bad news for Nevada. However, in the postseason anything can happen and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see this turn into another high-scoring affair involving the Wolf Pack.