Recent Play Details

Charleston enjoyed a fantastic season under second-year head coach Pat Kelsey, but it’s fair to ask about the Cougars’ level of competition up to this point. According to KenPom’s metrics, the CAA was 14th out of 32 conferences last year just behind the SoCon and Conference USA. This year the CAA was 26th behind leagues like the MAAC and America East. That’s a notable drop-off from one year to the next. Coach Kelsey’s full-steam-ahead approach on offense was dominant in the CAA, but the Cougars will be facing a much different animal on Thursday. Courtesy of Jon Fendler: Charleston ran transition offense at the fifth-highest rate in the country this season while SDSU leads the country in transition rate allowed. The team that gave the Aztecs the most problems this year was New Mexico, who used two veteran guards to run the pick-and-roll. Charleston is No. 324 in pick-and-roll usage. The Aztecs’ defense is built upon shutting down what Charleston does best. Look no further than San Diego State’s win in the Mountain West title game over Utah State. The Aggies are top-15 in the country in offensive efficiency, effective field goal shooting and three-point shooting. San Diego State held them to 57 points on 4-for-24 shooting from beyond the arc. This total is a few ticks too high. Play the under.