San Diego St. @ Boise St. preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 11, 2020 ) Boise St. 65, San Diego St. 83

San Diego State has already clinched its seventh Mountain West regular-season title, but coach Brian Dutcher is far from satisfied. The fourth-ranked Aztecs look to maintain their perfect record on Sunday against Boise State at ExtraMile Arena, where the Broncos are 12-1 this season.

Junior forward Matt Mitchell recorded 22 points and 12 rebounds in Tuesday’s 82-59 victory over New Mexico as the Aztecs moved to 25-0 overall and 14-0 in the Mountain West, giving them a five-game lead over Boise State and two other teams. “I told them in the locker room, now we have to get greedy,” Dutcher told reporters. “We’ve got to try to win them all. It won’t be easy. Four really hard games to go, but now that we have the title, we have to have another goal, and that goal has to be to have a perfect season. That will be the next step, to try to finish with a perfect season.” The Aztecs are led by likely Mountain West player of the year Malachi Flynn, who is averaging 17.6 points, five rebounds and five assists over his past 10 games. The junior point guard scored 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting against Boise State on Jan. 11, when the Aztecs raced to a 23-point lead at the half and cruised to an 83-65 victory at Viejas Arena.

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

ABOUT SAN DIEGO STATE (25-0, 14-0 Mountain West): Forward Yanni Wetzell scored 20 points in the win over New Mexico and is averaging 14.1 points and 7.1 rebounds while shooting 64.4 percent from the field over his last 10 games. Dutcher is exercising caution with forward Aguek Arop, who has missed 10 games this season due to injury but grabbed four rebounds in six minutes off the bench on Tuesday. “He’s an important piece,” Dutcher told reporters. “The healthier we can get him down the stretch, the better off we’ll be. He’s a Swiss Army knife. He can defend multiple positions, he plays with great energy, he has great length.”

ABOUT BOISE STATE (17-9, 9-5): Guard Justinian Jessup scored 18 points and forward RJ Williams posted his eighth double-double of the season with 16 points and 12 rebounds in Tuesday’s 74-57 victory over Air Force. Guard Derrick Alston snapped out of a brief shooting slump by scoring all 15 of his points in the second half and finished with seven rebounds and three assists. Coach Leon Rice also received a welcome boost from forward Abu Kigab, who returned after missing two games with a hip pointer and had six points, two rebounds, an assist and a blocked shot in 15 minutes off the bench.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. San Diego State has lost its last three games against the Broncos at ExtraMile Arena.

2. The Aztecs lead the Mountain West in scoring defense at 58.4 points per game.

3. Boise State owns a 122-29 record at home ExtraMile Arena under Rice.

PREDICTION: San Diego State 78, Boise State 65