San Diego State calm entering third battle with BYU for Mounain West title

By Case Keefer (contact)

Saturday, March 12, 2011 | 1:40 a.m.

San Diego State fans took no time to soak in their team’s dramatic 74-72 Mountain West Conference Tournament semifinal victory against UNLV.

They immediately started chanting and asking for BYU, Saturday’s opponent in the conference championship game, when the final buzzer sounded. The Aztecs themselves are practicing more patience.

“Our thoughts are not on BYU right now to be honest with you,” San Diego State coach Steve Fisher said. “Our kids aren’t thinking about BYU, they are thinking about the 74-72 victory we got tonight. We’ll have enough time, 17 hours, before we tip off.”

The matchup is one everyone wants to see for the third time this season, pitting two of the best teams in the history of the conference against each other. But it makes sense Fisher and his players are attempting to not overhype the clash.

After beating UNLV for the third time this season, San Diego State has assured itself a premier seed in the NCAA Tournament. The BYU game probably won’t mean much in that regard.

It will be more about burying the only obstacle that stood in the way of perfection for the Aztecs, whose only two losses are to the Cougars.

“The first game at BYU, they kind of ran us off the floor and out-rebounded us,” senior Billy White said. “The second game, we let them get wide open shots. We contained Jimmer, but we let other people get open.”

Fredette went only 8-for-23 from the field for 25 points in their February meeting at Viejas Arena, but BYU made 14 three-pointers to take an 80-67 victory.

D.J. Gay deserved most of the credit for slowing Fredette in the game. But Gay wasn’t coming off of two games in two nights like he will be Saturday.

Will Gay have enough left to chase Fredette around for another 40 minutes?

“I think the adrenaline will take care of that,” Gay said.

Gay starred in the semifinals against the Rebels. He never came off of the floor and scored 15 points, including the game-winning basket with five seconds left.

A high screen gave Gay a clear path to the hoop and he lofted in a short runner to put UNLV away. Fredette was the only player to overshadow Gay on Friday.

He set a Mountain West Conference Tournament record with 52 points in a win against New Mexico. Gay took notice. He’s ready for BYU again.

“UNLV always does a great job of getting everything out of me and my teammates with their pressure and pressing,” Gay said. “But to have another opportunity at a team that beat us twice this year will be great motivation to play at a high level.”

Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.