Aztecs present perfect target

SAN DIEGO -- About a month ago, when UNLV was mentioned in the same sentence with No. 1 Duke as the top teams in college basketball, Steve Fisher was paying attention.

The San Diego State coach was busy complimenting the Rebels this week when he referred to words spoken by Louisville's coach.

"Early in the season, Rick Pitino made the comment that other than Duke, this is the best team in the country," Fisher said. "We'll get their best shot, and hopefully we will give them ours."

Pitino and the Cardinals handed UNLV its first loss on Dec. 11. Fisher and the Aztecs are aiming to stick the Rebels with another one today.

Sixth-ranked San Diego State, 17-0 overall and 2-0 in the Mountain West Conference, puts its perfect record on the line against unranked UNLV (13-3, 1-1) at 7 p.m. at sold-out Viejas Arena.

Fisher said he expects a game that is "hard fought, closely contested and to the wire," and Rebels junior forward Chace Stanback indicated the Aztecs' lofty ranking makes them an exciting target.

"It's the type of team that's going to get everybody's best punch," Stanback said, "and hopefully we can give them ours. We've just got to be prepared for the fight.

"It's going to be extremely tough for us. We know it's going to be very physical. They've got a lot of athletes, a lot of talented players who can score and rebound the ball, so we've got our hands full."

UNLV, which lost its MWC opener at home to Brigham Young last week, has tripped and fallen a few times in the past month. San Diego State, meanwhile, has earned comparisons to Duke.

Fisher said his veteran team is doing well to handle the hype associated with being undefeated in January.

"We like the fact that we're unbeaten. We like the fact we're getting national attention," he said. "We can't let it obsess all our thoughts."

With a frontline of 6-foot-7-inch Kawhi Leonard, 6-8 Billy White and 6-9 Malcolm Thomas, the Aztecs pose a matchup nightmare for most opponents, and the Rebels face the same predicament.

"They have a lot of weapons. They're a tough matchup for anyone. They're as athletic and active, I would imagine, as any team in the country," UNLV coach Lon Kruger said.

"As many things as you have to talk about with San Diego State, start with rebounding. If you give them second shots, then you're in even more trouble."

Mostly because of their inside scoring and rebounding dominance, the Aztecs have won five of the past six games against the Rebels. San Diego State won two of three meetings last year, when each game was decided by 10 points.

In an 83-49 victory over Texas Christian on Saturday, Stanback emerged from a shooting slump and UNLV shot 50 percent from the field for the first time since Dec. 4 at UNR.

Fisher said the Aztecs, who limit opponents to 39.9 percent shooting and 58.6 points per game, are winning with relentless defense. White, a senior from Green Valley High School, has been a standout on that end.

"We are a good defensive team. We're long and athletic on the frontline," Fisher said. "If you watched our TCU game, they had an uncontested breakaway layup off of a steal and Billy White ran a guy down. He had to have set a world record on the 40-yard dash with how quickly he caught him, blocked the ball and ended up getting the assist at the other end.

"We are a team that has the ability to get 10 points in a minute, and that's significant."

Leonard, a sophomore who averages team highs of 15.9 points and 9.6 rebounds, is San Diego State's most talented player. But senior point guard D.J. Gay represents the team's glue.

"D.J. is a wily veteran who's our most important player," Fisher said. "It doesn't look like he's that good, but he gets the job done."

Kruger said the Rebels' game plan is not focused on containing any one Aztecs player.

"I would imagine Steve probably thinks Gay is as important as anyone he's got, because he runs the team and knocks down big shots," Kruger said. "But when you can make a case for four or five guys being your MVP, things are probably pretty good."

Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907.