SAN JOSE, Calif. - San Jose State men's basketball has officially locked up the No. 9 seed and will take on eight-seed Wyoming on Wednesday, March 10, in the opening round of the 2021 Air Force Reserve Mountain West Basketball Championships in Las Vegas at the Thomas & Mack Center.
No. 9 San Jose State (5-15, 3-13) vs. No. 8 Wyoming (13-10, 7-9)
Wednesday, March 10, 2021 | 11:00 a.m. PT | MW Network
TV AND RADIO INFORMATION
The game will be broadcasted live on the Mountain West Network with Nate Kreckman and Marty Fletcher on the call. Fans can also catch Justin Allegri's Spartan Radio call on the TuneIn app or on TuneIn.com.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
» Wyoming enters the tournament as the eighth seed with a 13-10 overall record and 7-9 mark in league play. The Cowboys and Spartans were set to square off two weeks ago in Laramie, however those games were canceled due to COVID-19.
» Led by first year head coach Jeff Linder, Wyoming is averaging 75.6 points per game. The Cowboys are coming off of an 80-69 win in their regular-season finale against UNLV.
LOOKING TO MAKE HISTORY
» The Spartans are looking for their first-ever win in the Mountain West Tournament. SJSU is currently 0-6 since joining the conference in 2013-14.
MAINTAINING POSSESSION
» San Jose State has improved throughout the season in holding on to the ball, and as a result they are the conference leader in fewest total turnovers committed. Their average of 12.8 per contest is also an improvement upon their 13.8 mark a season ago.
SMITH CONTINUES TO SHINE
» Junior guard Trey Smith has been outstanding as of late. He has started the last seven games and is averaging 15.3 points, shooting 44.2 percent from 3 and is 20-24 from FT during the stretch.
» After breaking onto the scene with 16 points in the win over New Mexico, Smith has twice reached the 20-point plateau for the first times of his career. He put down 21 points in game two against Air Force to help the Spartans complete the sweep over the Falcons.
» Smith had a career-best game against UNLV that saw him score personal bests of 22 points and pulled down eight rebounds.
» The junior from Cypress, California is averaging 8.3 points per game, an increase of 6.1 ppg from the previous season.
» Smith is also one of the most efficient players nationally ranking eigth in the country with just 1.05 files committed per 40 minutes.
WASHINGTON RETURNS TO THE LINEUP
» Richard Washington didn't miss a beat in his return to the hardwood in game one against UNLV, knocked down three triples en route to a 15 point performance. He followed up with 10 points in game two and pulled down eight rebounds.
DEFENDING THE DEEP SHOTS
» San Jose State ranks second in the conference and 42nd nationally in 3-point defense, holding opponents to a .308 clip, second only to Colorado State.
MOORE OF THAT
» Sophomore guard Omari Moore will look to have another big game in the MW Tournament after having his coming out party in the 2020 edition against New Mexico. Moore tallied a school and MW Tournament record eight steals in the loss to the Lobos to go with a then-career best 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting.
» This season, Moore is the only player in the Mountain West to rank in the top five in both steals (3rd with1.55 per game) and blocks (tied for fifth with 1.0 per game).
