San Diego State will play at UNLV with the MWC tournament crown at stake.

March 13, 2010

LAS VEGAS - San Diego State Game Notes | SDSU Broadcast Flip Card

(4) San Diego State (24-8/11-5 MWC) at (3) UNLV (25-7/11-5 MWC)

Television: VERSUS HD - Ted Robinson, Blaine Fowler
Radio: AM 600 KOGO - Ted Leitner (play-by-play).

San Diego State Looks for MWC Record-Tying 3rd Mountain West Conference Tournament Title; Faces UNLV on its Own Floor for Right to Raise the Trophy
San Diego State (24-8 overall), winners of four straight, eight of its last nine (8-1) and 10 of its last 12 games (10-2), advanced to the Mountain West Conference championship game for the second straight year and the fourth time in the league's 11-year history on Friday. The Aztecs has the unenviable task of facing UNLV (25-7 overall) on its home floor Saturday afternoon in the 2010 Conoco MWC title game.

Game time is set for 4 p.m. PT and the contest will be televised nationally in high definition by VERSUS, with Ted Robinson (play-by-play) and Blaine Fowler (analyst) on the call. The contest can be heard on AM 600 KOGO with Ted Leitner handling the action.

San Diego State advanced to the title game with a 72-69 victory over eighth-ranked New Mexico. This marked the highest ranked team the Aztec program has ever defeated in a road or neutral game and marked the highest-ranked team SDSU has disposed of since Feb. 18, 1988. San Diego State entered the game 2-53 all-time against top 25 teams on the road or at neutral sites.

Junior forward Billy White, who battled wrist and high ankle sprain injuries this season, poured in a game-high 28 points on the strength of 11-of-14 field-goal shooting. Freshman forward Kawhi Leonard posted his 15th double-double of the season with 15 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Junior guard D.J. Gay added five points, three rebounds, a career-high seven assists and no turnovers while playing all 40 minutes for the third straight game. Gay has played all but one minute in his last five outings.

SDSU shot 51.9 percent from the field, made 10-of-16 three-point field goals and had just nine turnovers in the win.

The Aztecs and Rebels are meeting for the 49th time, with UNLV owning a 32-16 series lead. The teams split the regular-season series, with UNLV winning 76-66 at the Thomas & Mack Center on Jan. 13 and San Diego State claiming the rematch, 68-58, at Viejas Arena on Feb. 13. This season, Leonard averaged team-highs of 13.0 points and 12.0 rebounds against the Rebels. White (12.0) and freshman guard Chase Tapley (10.0) also averaged in double figures for SDSU.

Remarkably, this is the sixth time in 11 seasons that the two teams have tangled in the MWC postseason with SDSU owning a 3-2 edge. The teams have split the four postseason encounters in Las Vegas, with SDSU winning the championship game in 2002 (78-75) and quarterfinal round game in 2009 (71-57), and losing the 2000 quarterfinal game (77-72) and the 2003 quarterfinal round game (83-67). In MWC tournament history, the Aztecs are 2-2 against the Rebels at the Thomas & Mack Center and all other league teams are a combined 1-13 against the Rebels at the venue.