The No. 5 seed San Diego State Aztecs (27-6, 18-3 MWC) take on the No. 12 seed Charleston Cougars (31-3, 19-2 CAA) Thursday at Amway Center in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Charleston beat the UNCW Seahawks 63-58 at Entertainment & Sports Arena on March 7 in the Colonial Conference Tourney Championship, their 10th consecutive win. Ryan Larson was a top performer with 23 points.
San Diego State won their fourth in a row in the Mountain West Conference Tournament Championship on Saturday at Thomas & Mack Center, beating the Utah State Aggies 62-57. Matt Bradley topped the scoresheet with 16 points. With 13 points and 10 rebounds, Jaedon LeDee also played a part.
The Aztecs got the win in the last meeting between the teams 72-52 at Titan Gym in November 2013. The Cougars have been led this season by Dalton Bolon (12.3 ppg), Ante Brzovic (11.6), and Reyne Smith (10.9). Brzovic also has grabbed 5.9 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Larson is dishing 4.1 assists per game.
Bradley’s 12.9 points per game have powered the Aztecs on offense. Nathan Mensah is averaging 5.8 rebounds per game, and Darrion Trammell is doling out 3.2 assists.
With 80.8 points per game, the Cougars are one of the highest-scoring offenses in the country (14th). Charleston is 10-0 in the last 10 games with an average margin of +20.0 (83.6-63.6). For the season, the Cougars are averaging 80.8 points per game, compared to 67.4 for opponents.
San Diego State has a 9-1 record over the last 10, scoring 65.7 points per game on average while holding opponents to 58.7 (+7.0 margin). The Aztecs are averaging 72.1 ppg for the full season while allowing 63.6.
COUGARS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points per game:
Dalton Bolon: 9.2 | 12.3 | -3.1
AZTECS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Darrion Trammell: 9.4 | 14.5 | -5.1
Points per game:
Jaedon LeDee: 10.8 | 7.9 | +2.9
Darrion Trammell: 5.8 | 9.2 | -3.4
Assists per game:
Darrion Trammell: 1.6 | 3.2 | -1.6
SportsTips’ College Basketball Pick:
Charleston (+180)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
