Nevada Wolf Pack vs San Diego State Aztecs: Predictions, Odds and Roster Notes

Where: Viejas Arena in San Diego, CA, USA.

When: Wednesday, February 20th at 11pm EST.

How (TV/Radio): CBS Sports Network |

Nevada Wolf Pack (Away)

Head Coach: Eric Musselman {Overall: 24-1, .960 W-L% | Conference: 11-1, 1st in Mountain West}

The Martin twins and the Nevada Wolf Pack have managed to meet their high preseason expectations after last season’s March Madness run. The senior-laden Nevada mowed through their non-conference slate before suffering their lone slip-up on the road against New Mexico on January 5th.

The Wolf Pack head to San Diego after taking care of business on the road against Wyoming. Nevada curb stomped the Cowboys 82-49 behind senior center, Trey Porter’s 14 points, while fellow seniors Caleb Martin and Jordan Caroline each contributed 13 points.

San Diego State Aztecs (Home)

Head Coach: Brian Dutcher {Overall: 16-9, .640 W-L% | Conference: 8-4, 4th in Mountain West}

The Aztecs enter the first of two games against Nevada in search of a win that will impress the NCAA tournament selection committee. SDSU’s lone win against a power conference team came on November 20th against Xavier in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational Tournament. Their lone game against a ranked opponent was not a pretty result, as then-top ranked Duke hammered the Aztecs 90-64 in that same tournament.

San Diego State is coming off a home win against middling conference foe, Boise State, where they beat the Broncos 71-65. The Aztecs were led in scoring by point guard, Devin Watson, while leading scorer, Jalen McDaniels poured in 18 points. Watson’s performance was enigmatic for coach Brian Dutcher, as the senior floor general committed 6 of the team’s 16 turnovers.

Nevada Roster Notes

Senior guard Lindsey Drew is out for the season due to a hip injury.

San Diego State Roster Notes

Sophomore guard Jordan Schakel is questionable with an ankle injury.

Head-to-Head: Cody Martin vs Devin Watson

Cody Martin

Small Forward | 6-7, 205lb (201cm, 92kg) | Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, VA) | Mocksville, NC | Senior

11.1 PPG | 5.4 APG | 4.3 RPG | 1.2 SPG | 0.7 BPG | 1.9 TOV | .525 FG% | .298 3P%

Devin Watson

Point Guard | 6-1, 183lb (185cm, 83kg) | El Camino HS | Oceanside, CA | Senior

16.4 PPG | 4.4 APG | 3.0 RPG | 0.9 SPG | 0.0 BPG | 2.7 TOV | .428 FG% | .400 3P%

Both players in this matchup started their college careers at other schools before taking on leadership roles at their current programs. Each player leads their teams in assists but have completely different playing styles that contribute to the success of their respective squads.

Cody Martin and his twin brother, Caleb were getting serious attention from NBA scouts and came real close to entering the draft before opting to stay in school for one more year. The NC State transfer’s scoring production has dipped some due to the emergence of fellow senior, Jordan Caroline, and junior guard, Jazz Johnson. Nonetheless, having an NBA-quality player like Cody Martin as a 4th scoring option is a luxury most coaches can only dream about.

Devin Watson has been a key contributor for the Aztecs this season, with his scoring production putting less weight on the shoulders of Jalen McDaniels. Although he can be streaky as a shooter, the former San Francisco Don has failed to reach double figures in scoring just once in conference play, which happened against the Air Force Academy on January 12th.

Nevada at San Diego State Predictions and Odds

Nevada is currently pegged as a 7.5 point favourite on the road in San Diego, while the over/under is set at 146.