Pepperdine picked a bad year to load up on Big West schools. The Aggies (7-4) are the fifth Big West squad to meet the Waves (5-7), who are 0-4 vs. the conference this season. Stefan Todorovic had 32 points in a losing cause to Long Beach State the other night, raising his season scoring average to 20.0. Todorovic shoots .403 from the 3-point line and has 65 free throw attempts, making 87.7% of them. This is the last D1 non-conference game for Davis, which has won 4 straight contests.
Logan, Utah, is one of the toughest places to play in the nation. Utah State is 35-3 at home in the last 3 seasons and came into last night as one of just 5 undefeated teams in the nation. The elevation of 4,700+ feet can stymie all but the most well-conditioned teams. The crowd, 7,354 last night, is knowledgeable and vocal.
Utah State came into the game with a NET of 20 and a projected 9 seeding for the NCAA Tournament by ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi. For what it’s worth, Lunardi was projecting UCSD as the Big West auto bid and a 12 seed with UC Irvine one of his first four teams out.
The Tritons overcame all of the challenges to bolster the Big West Conference’s two-bid scenario. If UCSD and UCI can hold serve, finish 1-2 in the conference standings and face each other in the conference championship game, I think they’re both in.