KenPom Rankings update: San Diego State moves up after dominant victory
In this story:
Following Saturday’s dominant victory over Boise State at Viejas Arena, San Diego State has moved up to No. 42 in the KenPom college basketball rankings.
San Diego State won both games last week, against San Jose State and Boise State. The Aztecs have won six of their past seven games overall as they push for a postseason bid to the NCAA tournament.
The Aztecs (17-6, 10-4) put on a defensive showcase against Boise State (17-8, 9-5) on Saturday night. The Aztecs held the Broncos to nine points over the final 15:40 of the first half, taking a 28-18 halftime lead.
“My coaching staff does a great job getting us ready for these games,” San Diego State head coach Brian Dutcher said after the Boise State game. “From the prep work and the film work, coming up with game plans, and then our kids execute the game plans.”
San Diego State used a 14-0 run in the second half, increasing their lead to as much as 23 points, before settling for a 64-47 victory.
Senior guard Nick Boyd had a career-high 24 points in the victory while Miles Byrd and and Wayne McKinney each chipped in with 10 points. Redshirt freshman forward Magoon Gwath continued his breakout season with eight points, six rebounds and six blocks, helping to earn his third Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Week award of the season.
Saturday’s win over Boise State combined with Utah State’s loss at New Mexico propelled the Aztecs into the No. 2 spot among Mountain West Conference teams in KenPom’s rankings.
New Mexico, who now leads the regular season standings by two games, sits at No. 38 in the rankings. Utah State and Boise State sit at No. 49 and 50, respectively.
San Diego State’s remaining regular season schedule includes three games at Viejas Arena and three games away from home. KenPom projects the Aztecs to win five of those six games, with the lone loss coming against Utah State this upcoming Saturday.
The Aztecs will welcome New Mexico to Viejas Arena a week from Tuesday in front of what is sure to be a raucous crowd. San Diego State has won four of their past five battles with the Lobos in front of their home crowd.
That projection would give San Diego State a record of 21-8, 14-6 heading into Las Vegas for the Mountain West Conference tournament.
MORE SAN DIEGO STATE NEWS & ANALYSIS
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Continue to follow our San Diego State coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook.
-770033d1c5c4820fdbde4ecf2452e810.jpg "Bodie De Silva")
Bodie DeSilva has been covering sports in San Diego for more than a decade. He previously covered San Diego State athletics for Scout/Fox Sports.