Air Force meets Fresno State in MWC quarters
No. 6 seed Air Force (14-17, 9-10) vs. No. 3 seed Fresno State (22-8, 13-5)
Mountain West Conference Tournament Quarterfinals, Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas; Thursday, 10:30 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: A spot in the MWC semifinals is up for grabs as Air Force and Fresno State match up. The only regular season meeting came on Feb. 20, when the Falcons shot 41.1 percent from the field while holding Fresno State's shooters to just 35.1 percent en route to a three-point victory.
BIG MEN ON CAMPUS: The junior duo of Lavelle Scottie and Ryan Swan has led the Falcons. Scottie is averaging 15.4 points and 5.6 rebounds while Swan is putting up 12.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. The Bulldogs have been anchored by seniors Deshon Taylor and Braxton Huggins. Taylor has averaged 18.4 points and 4.8 assists while Huggins has put up 19.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.
FACILITATING THE OFFENSE: Taylor has either made or assisted on 52 percent of all Fresno State field goals over the last five games. The senior guard has accounted for 40 field goals and 31 assists in those games.
WINLESS WHEN: Air Force is 0-9 when scoring fewer than 61 points and 14-8 when scoring at least 61.
ASSIST-TO-FG RATIO: The Falcons have recently used assists to create buckets more often than the Bulldogs. Fresno State has an assist on 52 of 90 field goals (57.8 percent) across its past three outings while Air Force has assists on 48 of 77 field goals (62.3 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: Fresno State as a team has made 10.7 3-pointers per game this season, which is 10th-best among Division I teams. The Bulldogs have averaged 13.6 3-pointers per game over their last five games.
