LAS VEGAS — No. 20 San Diego State held Mountain West Player of the Year Omari Moore to seven points, far below his average of 17.8 per game, as San Jose State lost 64-49 in the Mountain West Conference Tournament semifinals on Friday night.
A win would have brought the Spartans (20-13) one win away from reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1996, when they won the Big West with a 13-17 overall record. Instead, the top-seeded Aztecs (26-6) advanced to the championship game for the sixth consecutive year, where they will face the winner of the late semifinal between Utah State and Boise State.
Thanks to reaching the 20-win mark for the first time since 1980-81, the Spartans are likely to play in the postseason for the sixth time in program history. San Jose State has never won a single postseason game in its five previous appearances — three NCAA Tournaments, one National Invitational Tournament (NIT) and one College Basketball Invitational (CBI).
In 2022, Mountain West teams played in both the NIT and the newly-formed The Basketball Classic, which Fresno State won. San Jose State hasn’t appeared in any postseason tournament since 2011.
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The Aztecs shot 40.7% from the floor, hitting 22 of 54, including 6 of 16 from 3-point range.
Sophomore Tibet Gorener scored 15 points to lead San Jose State, the only player in double figures. Moore finished 3-for-13 from the field (1-for-4 from 3-point range) and sophomore Alvaro Cardenas, who averages 10 points per game, was held to four points on 2-for-10 shooting (0-for-4 from 3-point range).
The Aztecs …read more
Source:: The Mercury News