SDSU Will End 1988 Facing Vermont

After playing host to No. 7 North Carolina in front of the largest crowd at a San Diego State home basketball game (13,106), and after leading the Tar Heels at halftime before reality arrived in the form of a 103-92 loss, what’s left for an encore for the Aztecs?

A New Year’s Eve special: Vermont arrives today for a 6 p.m. game in the San Diego Sports Arena.

The Catamounts (1-4) are a young team built around a strong center. They start two freshmen, a sophomore, a junior and senior center Joe Calavita (6-feet 11-inches, 240 pounds).

Calavita, the team leader in scoring (15.6 points a game) and rebounding (9.6), has reached double figures in 22 consecutive games. Earlier this season, he became the fourth player in school history to reach 1,000 career points and 500 rebounds.

To combat Calavita, the Aztecs (5-4) have 6-10 senior Mitch McMullen (averaging 18.4 points and 9.8 rebounds a game), who is coming off one of the best games of his career. McMullen equaled a career high Thursday with 29 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out. McMullen is shooting 67% (73 for 109) from the field.

Aztec senior point guard Bryan Williams also tied a career high against North Carolina with 10 assists.