San Diego St. @ Nevada preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 20, 2019 ) Nevada 57, San Diego St. 65

All things considered, it would be fair to say 18th-ranked Nevada's game with San Diego State on Saturday night might be the biggest in school history. A win over the Aztecs and the Wolf Pack will win a share of their third consecutive Mountain West title, notch the No. 1 seed for next week's conference tourney in Las Vegas and also tie the school record most consecutive home wins.

It's also Senior Night for seven players including the trio of Caleb and Cody Martin and Jordan Caroline who have been the cornerstone of a remarkable three-year stretch that included a run to the Sweet 16 last season and an overall record of 84-18. "I don't think we're going to need any extra motivation going into the game," Cody Martin said. "I think it's going to be a really, really good game ... I think we end up playing better when our backs are to the wall anyway. It's one of those things where we have to come in ready to take care of business." Standing in the way of a potential storybook regular season finish for the Martin twins and Caroline is a San Diego State team that has won three in a row over the Wolf Pack and 10 of the last 13 meetings, including a 65-57 win on Feb. 20 in San Diego.

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network

ABOUT SAN DIEGO STATE (19-11, 11-6 MW): The fourth place Aztecs have dropped two of their last three games including a 76-74 home loss to third place Fresno State on Wednesday and will face UNLV in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Tournament on Thursday. Athletic 6-10 sophomore forward Jalen McDaniels leads the team in scoring (16.4 points per game) and rebounding (8.2) and had 30 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and five steals in a Jan. 26 win over the Runnin' Rebels, the first Division I player to roll up those kinds of numbers in a game since Ben Simmons. Senior guard Devin Watson is second in scoring (15.7) and has 10 games of 20 or more points this season while 6-6 sophomore forward Matt Mitchell also is averaging in double figures (10.4) and is one of the league's top defenders.

ABOUT NEVADA (27-3, 14-3): Caleb Martin is making a strong run at his second consecutive Mountain West Player of the Year award, averaging a team-best 19.4 points to go along with 5.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game and has scored 20 or more points in eight of the last 10 games. Caroline also is in the conversation for conference POY honors, averaging 17.7 points and 9.6 rebounds per game while snagging four conference player of the week awards. Cody Martin leads the Mountain West in assists (5.2) to go along with 11.6 points per game, and 5-10 Portland transfer Jazz Johnson also is averaging in double figures (11.2) and had a career-high 27 points in Tuesday night's 90-79 victory at Air Force.

TIP-INS

1. Nevada's 17-game home win streak is tied with Purdue for the fifth longest active streak in Division I and is one off the school record of 18 in a row.

2. Wolf Pack F Tre'Shawn Thurman, a 6-8 transfer from Omaha, has three double-doubles in the last six games.

3. Nevada is 46-2 in in its last 48 home games.

PREDICTION: Nevada 74, San Diego State 67