Last night, while Indiana was inexplicably losing to Nebraska, San Diego State went into new Meixco and won a big road game in the Mountain West bringing their record to 16-2 overall. The only two losses for Fisher's team thus far have been a road loss to Baylor and a home court loss to Creighton, two teams that will have a realistic shot at the second weekend in March.
Last year's team was largely known for a defensive prowess and this year's team is no different. Though they give up a few more points per game, they are scoring more and actually holding opponents to a lower FG%. So, despite giving up 3 more pg, they're scoring 3 more pg. The one thing that has repeated itself this year is, they don't foul. They're 9th in the nation in fouls averaging only 14.9 p.g, roughly the same as 2011. The national average for offensive possessions ending in a free throw attempt is 36.6%. SDSU only has 25% of its defensive trips end up with free shots. Couple that with their other defensive numbers and you get an idea why they are right back at the top of the Mountain West. The other numbers don't jump out at you but this is steady, efficient team whose confidence should only be growing.
This team is led by a three-headed monster at the guard position. JR. Chase Tapley leads the way scoring 16.7ppg on 50% shooting. The other two guards are sophomores Jamaal Franklin and Xavier Thomas (A Washington St. transfer). Franklin is the other scorer while Thomas is the PG. In their closer games, Thomas has been sloppy with the ball but when he protects it, they win handidly. He has 79 dimes and 40 TOs. If he gets better, SDSU should have a chance in any game.
UNLV was the flavor of the month in December but the Mountain West lead dog might just end up being the Aztecs.
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