UNLV vs San Diego St: Prediction & Fan Poll

Mike Moser

© AP Photo/Julie Jacobson

NO. 14 SAN DIEGO STATE (20-3, 6-1 MWC) AT NO. 16 UNLV (21-4, 5-2 MWC)

Time: 4 p.m. (1 p.m. PT)

TV: NBC Sports Network

Location: Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nev.

RPI Ratings

San Diego State 21 (No. 3 MWC)

UNLV 11 (No. 1 MWC)

Line: UNLV -11 (138 o/u)

San Diego State Players to Watch: G Jamaal Franklin, 6-5 So. (16 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 1.2 spg); G Chase Tapley, 6-3 Jr. (15.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.1 spg); G Xavier Thames, 6-3 So. (10.4 ppg, 4.6 apg, 3 rpg). With 40 points and 19 rebounds in wins over Boise State and Texas Christian, Franklin was named the Mountain West Player of the Week last week. He has seven double-doubles in the Aztecs’ last 10 games.

UNLV Players to Watch: F Mike Moser, 6-8 So. (14.5 ppg, 11.5 rpg, 2.3 apg); F Chace Stanback, 6-8 Sr. (13.7 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 47.5% FG); G Anthony Marshall, 6-3 Jr. (11.8 ppg, 4.8 apg, 4.6 rpg). Moser earned his 13^th double-double of the season Saturday with a 11 points and 10 rebounds, but he missed a jumper at the buzzer in the Rebels’ 68-66 loss at Wyoming.

Storylines: UNLV fell a game behind San Diego State, which has won 13 of its last 14 games overall, in the Mountain West standings after Saturday’s loss. The Rebels are in a second-place tie with New Mexico at 5-2 in the league after having their 5-game winning streak snapped by the Cowboys.

Key Stats: San Diego State has won six straight and nine of 10 in the series, including a 69-67 win over the Rebels at home on Jan. 14. The Aztecs hit 16-of-20 shots from the charity stripe and got 24 points, including the game winner in the final seconds, and 10 rebounds from Franklin in the victory. UNLV out-rebounded the Aztecs 41-31 in the first meeting, but the Rebels managed to hit just 24-of-68 shots from the field, including eight of their 27 3-point tries.

The Bottom Line: Expect Moser and Stanback to dominate the boards and for the Rebels to pull away late for a big MWC victory.

The Pick: UNLV 80, San Diego State 72