Alvaro Cardenas (Photo by Max Bechtoldt)
By Matt Weiner (@MattWeiner20) – MBB Beat Reporter
Matchup: San Jose State (8-19 1-14) vs. San Diego State (17-7, 9-4)
When: Friday, Feb. 25 at 8:00 p.m.
Where: Viejas Arena in San Diego, Ca.
The San Jose State Spartans will hop on Highway 99 and venture down south to take on the San Diego State Aztecs at 8 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 25. It’s lollipops and warm socks out the dryer for the Spartans as they’re coming off of a win against New Mexico that snapped a 14-game losing streak. Besides momentarily knocking a monkey off their back, SJSU first-year head coach Tim Miles clinched his first Mountain West win as a Spartan.
SDSU on the other hand, is coming off a gutting last second defeat against Boise State that should’ve ended in a win, had Matt Bradley hit two free throws when SDSU was up 57-56 with seven seconds left.
Know Your Foe
SDSU came out on top in the first matchup, winning 72-62 thanks to 18 points from star guard Matt Bradley in the second half, at one point going on a 9-0 run by himself.
The lethal lefty has been an avant garde the entire season averaging 16.8 points a contest, however comes into this game struggling as of late. He’s shot 5 of 21 in his last two games and went 1 of 8 from the field against Fresno State, scoring a season-low two points. It’s extremely uncharacteristic, like watching Picasso draw an incongruent circle or Gordon Ramsay overcook a beef Wellington.
Even when Bradley is heaving up enough bricks to build a house for the third little pig, he still draws everyone’s attention which leads to big opportunities for teammates.
In this play, Boise State’s Mladen Armus has to abandon the restricted area and come up to stop a floater, allowing Nathan Mensah to creep around the back corner and slam it down.
Chad Baker-Mazarah has been able to take advantage as well going for a season-high 20 against Fresno State.
Offensively, SDSU is narrow and hardly above average, however its defense is placing it on the precipice of making a huge run come tourney time.
Kenpom has placed their defense as the second most efficient in the country.
Each player flies around with the speed of a hummingbird while honessing the wingspan of a fully stretched California Condor.