Broncos will try to ride past Aztecs in MWC Tournament play

Las Vegas, NV – The newest member of the Mountain West ranked San Diego State in quarterfinal action at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas this afternoon.

The Broncos, the eighth seed in the event, had a tough time adjusting to play in the MWC in 2011-12, winning a total of just three league bouts after opening the campaign with eight wins in nine tries and turning a few heads in the process. However, outside of a three-game win streak with victories over Air Force, Colorado State and TCU, BSU struggled from the middle of December on.

As for the top-seeded Aztecs, they tied New Mexico for the top spot in the conference standings at 10-4 and were named the top team for this event thanks to the tie-breakers. San Diego State, winners of this event each of the last two seasons and four times overall, is trying to get back to the title game for the fourth straight year.

Prior to this season, these teams had met just once before and now the advantage sits at 3-0 in favor of the Aztecs after they completed the season sweep over BSU with a 58-56 triumph at home and then a 66-53 victory at Taco Bell Arena last Wednesday.

The winner of this meeting will be back on the floor tomorrow against the survivor of the TCU/Colorado State matchup in the semifinals.

The good news for the Broncos is that they have Jeff Elorriaga available once again after he missed a number of games due to a fractured thumb, although he has registered just two double-digit scoring games since coming back. Then again, scoring doesn't seem to be the strong suit for this program as it averages a modest 68.6 ppg over the course of 29 games and just 60.0 ppg in league action. Against league foes the Broncos don't have a single player averaging double digits, with Derrick Marks coming the closest with his 9.6 ppg and Anthony Drmic checking in with 9.1 ppg. But as promising as Drmic may be, he has still shot just 31.2 percent from the floor and 19.0 percent behind the three-point line in conference play.

Jamaal Franklin came alive this season for the Aztecs, thrust into the spotlight after averaging just 2.9 points and 1.9 rebounds per game a year ago and all of a sudden he's logged 11 double-doubles in 2011-12 and has been recognized as the top performer in the entire league. Scoring in double figures in 11 of his last 16 outings, Franklin leads the program in both scoring and rebounding overall with 17.1 points and 8.0 rebounds per contest. Named to the All-MWC Second Team, Chase Tapley is second on the unit in scoring with 15.2 ppg, although his average dips down to 12.8 ppg against the rest of the MWC. Xavier Thames and Tim Shelton were both named All-MWC Honorable Mention as they responded with 10.5 ppg and 5.4 ppg, respectively, the latter earning the respect more for his defense for sure.