SDSU, Battling for Playoffs, Faces UTEP

San Diego State, in its final week of Western Athletic Conference regular-season men’s basketball action, plays Texas El Paso at 6:35 tonight.

Though SDSU is out of the WAC championship race, it is battling for position in the conference playoffs, which start March 6. The Aztecs are fifth in the WAC with a 7-7 record. New Mexico, which plays host to SDSU on Saturday night, is tied for sixth with Colorado State at 6-8.

The conference’s nine teams are all eligible for the tournament.

UTEP is among four teams still hoping to win the regular-season championship and earn the home-court advantage in next week’s WAC tournament. Wyoming is first with an 11-3 record, and UTEP, Brigham Young and Utah are tied for second at 10-4.

Anthony Watson of SDSU leads the conference in scoring with a 23.4 average. Watson scored a school-record 54 points seven days ago as the Aztecs beat United States International University, 138-93, in a nonconference game.

UTEP has won three consecutive regular-season WAC championships. The Miners are led by 6-11 center Dave Feitl, who is averaging 16.2 points and 6.9 rebounds.