San Diego St. @ UNLV preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 14, 2019 ) UNLV 55, San Diego St. 63

Fourth-ranked San Diego State has a chance to break a pair of school and Mountain West Conference records on Sunday afternoon when it visits UNLV. The Aztecs, the nation's only unbeaten team, tied the marks for best start to a season and also consecutive wins when they defeated Wyoming 72-55 on Tuesday.

The 20-0 start matches the best beginning to a season in school and league history set by the Kawhi Leonard-led 2010-11 squad that finished 34-3 and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen where it lost to eventual national champion Connecticut 74-67. The 20-game win streak, which is also a Mountain West record, was tied by the 2013-14 Aztec team which finished 31-5 and also advanced to the Sweet Sixteen where it lost to Arizona. "It feels good ... but they don't hang banners for being 20-0, only for conference championships," San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher, who was an assistant to Steve Fisher on both of the other record-setting teams, told reporters. "We're trying to win a Mountain West title. That's our goal right now." That puts even more added significance on Sunday's contest as UNLV has won six straight home games, including a 70-53 victory over preseason favorite Utah State on Jan. 1, and enters the contest in second place.

TIME: 4 p.m. ET. TV: CBS Sports Network

ABOUT SAN DIEGO STATE (20-0, 9-0 Mountain West): Junior guard Malachi Flynn, a transfer from Washington State, leads the team in scoring (16.6), assists (5.1) and steals (1.8) and is the early frontrunner for conference player of the year honors. He has scored 10 or more points in 19 of the 20 games and is averaging 19.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists over the last six contests while shooting 49.3 percent from the field. Yanni Wetzell, a 6-10 grad transfer from Vanderbilt, is second in scoring (12.3) and rebounding (6.4) while junior forward Matt Mitchell is also averaging in double figures scoring (11.3).

ABOUT UNLV (11-10, 6-2): The Runnin' Rebels have bounced back from a rocky 4-8 start under first-year coach T.J. Otzelberger to win seven of their last nine but come in off a loss at in-state rival Nevada 86-72 on Wednesday, shooting just 35.9 percent - including 7-of-25 from 3-point range - in the process. Junior guard Amauri Hardy leads the team in scoring (15.1), which also ranks eighth in the Mountain West, while 6-11 junior forward Cheikh Mbacke Diong leads the team in rebounds (9.0) while also averaging 8.9 points. Sophomore guard Bryce Hamilton is second in scoring (13.5), but is averaging 21.4 points during Mountain West play, including 35 points in a 99-78 win over New Mexico on Jan. 18 and 26 to go along with seven rebounds in Wednesday's loss to the Wolf Pack.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The all-time series is tied at 36-36, but San Diego State is 30-10 in the last 40 meetings while winning the last four and 15 of the past 16.

2. The Aztecs rank in the top five nationally in a number of defensive categories including scoring defense (fourth, 56.7), 3-point field goal percentage defense (fourth, 27.4) and field goal percentage defense (fifth, 36.7).

3. San Diego State is 9-1 against UNLV at the Thomas & Mack Center since 2014, including a 63-55 victory in the quarterfinals of the 2019 Mountain West tournament in the last meeting between the two teams.

PREDICTION: San Diego State 71, UNLV 63