Aztecs Battle Air Force for Right to Play Wyoming in Tournament

San Diego State will play Air Force tonight in a game in which the winner earns the right to play No. 17 Wyoming in the quarterfinals of the Western Athletic Conference basketball tournament.

What does the loser get? How about a preliminary game against last-place Hawaii Wednesday night, with the winner having to play conference champion Brigham Young on its home court in the quarterfinals Thursday night? The conference tournament runs Wednesday through Saturday in Provo, Utah.

That less-than-inviting choice is what the Aztecs face when they conclude their regular season against the Falcons tonight in a 7:35 game at the San Diego Sports Arena. But there is no question in Coach Jim Brandenburg’s mind which alternative he prefers.

“We want to make a vertical move in the conference,” he said. “We’d rather finish seventh than eighth.”

If the Aztecs (11-16, 4-11 in conference) defeat Air Force (11-15, 4-11) to split their season series, they will finish seventh in the WAC standings.

Both the Aztecs and Falcons are in the midst of losing streaks. SDSU has lost consecutive games to Wyoming and Colorado State.

Aztecs, 60-57, Jan. 21 at Colorado Springs behind guard Raymond Dudley’s 23 points, have lost five in a row since they lost forward Rob Marr for the season with a broken foot. Marr was the team’s second-leading scorer (14.5 points) and leading rebounder (6.1). Air Force is coming off a 75-54 loss at Hawaii Thursday.