(Sports Network) --The seventh-ranked San Diego State Aztecs are set for another tough test tonight as they pay a visit to Moby Arena and the Colorado State Rams in Mountain West Conference action.
Over the weekend, the Aztecs were tossed a softball as they hosted Wyoming at Viejas Arena and completely dominated the Cowboys in a 96-57 decision. The crushing victory came on the heels of the team's difficult 71-58 setback at ninth-ranked BYU in Provo three nights earlier. SDSU is now tied with the Cougars atop the MWC standings at 6-1.
As for the Rams, they are just one game off the pace set by the Aztecs and Cougars in the Mountain West standings after taking down Utah on the road in Salt Lake City over the weekend, 74-68. The victory was the second in a row and the fourth in five tries for the program.
With respect to the all-time series between these two schools on the hardwood, Colorado State leads by a count of 35-31. However, in recent years the Aztecs have closed the gap significantly by taking seven straight meetings and 12 of the last 13 matchups with the Rams. The teams are set to close out the regular season against each other on March 5th in San Diego.
San Diego State took out some frustrations against the Cowboys over the weekend, ripping off the first 14 points of the meeting and then cruising to the 39-point win, the team's largest margin of victory ever against a Mountain West opponent. Chase Tapley stepped up with a game-high 24 points for the hosts, while James Rahon checked in with 14 points off the bench. D.J. Gay tacked on 12 points and Billy White 10 and six rebounds as the duo tried to make up for the lackluster performance put forth by Kawhi Leonard who was limited to just two points and six rebounds, although he did play just 25 minutes. Perhaps the short outing for Leonard was necessary given that he was feeling under the weather during the trip to Provo to battle BYU last week. Nevertheless, he is still an all-conference caliber performer who is averaging a double-double with 15.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per outing for the Aztecs. Gay is good for another 12.3 ppg, even though he posted just two points in the decision against BYU. A team that likes to get physical with opponents, SDSU is holding foes to just 39.7 percent shooting from the field and 59.3 ppg over the course of 22 games. But even though the squad is known mostly for play in the paint, they showed that they can also light it up from the outside as they knocked down a school-record 17 threes in the win over Wyoming.
Against Utah over the weekend, Andy Ogide exploded for a double-double consisting of a career-high 28 points and 10 rebounds, shooting 10-of-17 from the floor and 5-of-6 at the free-throw line, as the Rams picked up the road win. Greg Smith tacked on 14 points and Adam Nigon another 11 for the starters, the latter accounting for half of the unit's 10 steals as well. Over the course of seven conference games this season, Ogide is putting up 17.0 ppg and pulling down 7.7 rpg, numbers that lead the program. His 61.5 percent shooting from the floor is unrivaled on the roster, but that still doesn't make up for the fact that he is converting just 56.3 percent of his free-throw attempts in league action. Travis Franklin chips in with 14.4 ppg, but his 60 percent effort at the charity stripe brings the team down to only 65.0 percent at the stripe in league bouts.
The Rams have been playing very well this season, but to try and match up against an SDSU group that is anxious to keep pace with BYU in the standings is not an easy task, even at home.
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