San Diego St. @ Utah preview

San Diego St. at Utah

Last Meeting ( Nov 16, 2015 ) San Diego St. 76, Utah 81

Fresh off a stunning upset of No. 6 Kentucky in Las Vegas, Utah is now aiming to take down another ranked foe when it tangles with No. 20 San Diego State on Saturday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It will be the first game of the four-team Air Force Reserve Basketball Hall of Fame Classic, and it will serve as the Runnin’ Utes’ non-conference finale.

Utah held off a late Kentucky rally and shot 54.8 percent from the field, including 8-of-15 3-pointers, Wednesday night in winning 69-66 and beating its first top-10-ranked foe since a win over Arizona on Feb. 27, 2016. It also was the fifth straight win overall for the Utes, and it left Kentucky coach John Calipari impressed. “They physically fought, they fought for position, they fought for defense, they fought for rebounds, they fought running down the floor, they outran (us),” Calipari said. “That's what I'm trying to get my team to do. That was a great win, and they deserved it.” At 11-0, San Diego State is off to the second-best start in program history and, as of Friday morning, was one of only four remaining unbeaten Division I teams.

TV: 6:30 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network

ABOUT UTAH (9-2): Leading scorer Timmy Allen finished with a game-high 25 points Wednesday, including a key, tie-breaking floater with 1:14 remaining. He also snared a team-most nine rebounds in the contest to up his season averages to 21.0 points and 7.5 boards per contest. Forward Riley Battin (10.4 points) and guards Both Gach (11.9) and Rylan Jones (11.7, team-leading 5.3 assists) also are averaging double figures for the Utes, who are averaging 81.7 points per game while shooting 50.2 percent from the field to rank 12th nationally.

ABOUT SAN DIEGO STATE (11-0): The Aztecs, playing in their third season under head coach Brian Dutcher, are looking for their third neutral-court victory over a major-conference opponent this season after defeating Creighton (83-52) and Iowa (83-73) to win the Nov. 28-29 Las Vegas Invitational. Junior guard Malachi Flynn has been San Diego State’ pace-setter, averaging a team-leading 15.5 points and 5.1 assists, and is joined in double figures by forwards Matt Mitchell (11.5 points) and Yanni Wetzell (10.8) and guard Jordan Schakel (10.7). The Aztecs are averaging 76.7 points overall, but their hallmark has been defense, ranking in the top 13 nationally in scoring defense (56.6 points allowed), field-goal percentage defense (36.7) and 3-point percentage defense (25.8).

TIP-INS

1. The programs are former Mountain West and Western Athletic Conference rivals, with Utah dominating the series 54-19 after winning the last meeting, 81-76, in Salt Lake City in 2015.

2. With Flynn and Schakel each with 26 treys apiece, the Aztecs rank 17th nationally with a team 3-point percentage of 39.8.

3. The battle on the boards should be fierce with both teams ranking among Division I’s top 25 with rebound margins of plus-7.5 or better. Nathan Mensah, a 6-10 forward from Ghana, is pacing San Diego State with 7.3 boards per outing.

PREDICTION: San Diego State 74, Utah 68