Keys To The Game: San Diego State

IUPUI's second toughest challenge of the year comes today against San Diego State in their second game of the regional portion of the O'Reilly CBE Classic.

1) Bigs Need To Step Up.
Mitchell did a great job on Saturday in his limited time on the floor, but he and Christian were both in foul trouble towards the end of the game. Donovan wasn't exactly in foul trouble, but played with his head down after not being as successful as he would like to be. All three need to come ready to play, SDSU has a squad of big men who will control the entire game if our guys don't respond immediately.

2) Mid-Range Shots.
Speaking of the SDSU bigs, our guards need to do their best impression of old-school NBA players and hit those 10-16 foot shots OVER the front court of SDSU. Running floaters, step back jumpers, it doesn't matter. Don't drive the lane and get called for the charge - or worse, get super-swatted.

3) Avoid Turnovers.
IUPUI had their first single digit (FAiTH!) turnover game of the year Saturday, but six of the nine total turnovers were attributed to Alex and Leroy. Can't do that, boys. Sharpness on the ball must be a major concern against a team that beat Gonzaga by three...on the road.

4) 45% FG; 38% 3P; 80% FT.
The key to this stat line is fouling smart. SDSU is shooting terribly from the line so far this year (60.3%, 282nd nationally). Getting to them to the line instead of a very easy buckets (they are shooting 52.5% from the field, good enough for 12th in the nation) in a smart way could be a major factor in tonight's game.