San Diego St. @ Utah St. preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 16, 2019 ) San Diego St. 57, Utah St. 64

One of two undefeated teams in the country, No. 12 San Diego State puts its perfect record on the line Saturday against host Utah State. Both teams resumed Mountain West play on Wednesday, when the Aztecs recorded a 61-52 victory over Fresno State and Utah State scored a season-low 53 points in a 17-point loss to UNLV.

Washington State transfer Malachi Flynn averages 15.5 points, 5.1 assists and 1.6 steals to lead San Diego State, which could be without 6-10 sophomore center Nathan Mensah for the second straight game due to respiratory issue. Junior forward Matt Mitchell started in his place against Fresno State and recorded 15 points and six rebounds for the Aztecs, whose 14-game winning streak is the third longest in school history. “Someone asked me if I wanted to lose a game to take the pressure off and I said 'Are you insane?' coach Brian Dutcher told reporters. “I want to win them all. We like the pressure. We want to keep it on and we’ll see as hostile an environment as anybody in the country when we go to Logan and play Utah State.” Picked to finish first in the Mountain West preseason poll, Utah State is looking to bounce back after shooting 2-of-19 from 3-point range in the loss to UNLV.

TIME: 10 p.m. ET. TV: CBS Sports Network

ABOUT SAN DIEGO STATE (14-0, 3-0 Mountain West): The Aztecs boast a veteran lineup led by Flynn, a 6-1 junior who registered his 1,000th career point against Fresno State and has scored in double figures 13 times this season. The team’s physical frontline features Vanderbilt transfer Yanni Wetzell, who averages 10.7 points and 6.2 rebounds while shooting 59 percent from the field. Sophomore forward Aguek Arop is expected to miss his sixth straight game due to a strained shoulder, but 6-10 forwards Joel Mensah and Nolan Narain have provided valuable minutes off the bench.

ABOUT UTAH STATE (13-3, 2-1): Senior guard Sam Merrill was the Mountain West player of the year last season and entered Wednesday’s contest averaging 17.7 points, but UNLV held him to 10 points on 2-of-6 shooting. One bright spot was the play of sophomore forward Justin Bean, who posted his 11th career double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. The Aggies were outrebounded 41-29 and dominated near the basket minus 7-foot sophomore center Neemias Queta, who has been limited to four games this season due to a knee injury and is questionable for Saturday’s contest.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Utah State earned an NCAA Tournament berth with a 64-57 win over the Aztecs in last season’s Mountain West tournament championship game.

2. The Aztecs have won 20 straight games when leading at the half.

3. Utah State is 28-3 under coach Craig Smith when holding opponents to fewer than 69 points.

PREDICTION: San Diego State 78, Utah State 74