Jabari Parker and Andrew Wiggins may be receiving all the attention early in the college basketball season, but the No. 6-ranked Arizona Wildcats believe that they have one of the best freshmen in the nation. First-year forward Aaron Gordon was one of the top high school recruits during the offseason, and he has already shown flashes of potential only two games into the year. Gordon was able to put up 14 points and 10 rebounds during Arizona’s 34-point beating over Long Beach State on Monday. The team has a tough schedule to start the year but will not face their first major test until the middle of December when they visit the No. 7-ranked Michigan Wolverines.

The San Diego State Aztecs have made the NCAA Tournament four years in a row, and they will be looking to improve on last year’s 23-11 record and second-round tournament loss. The team did not win last year’s Mountain Western Conference Tournament and was eliminated in the semi-finals. The Aztecs won their conference championship in both 2011 and 2012, and they believe that the Mountain Western title is theirs to lose. Let’s take a closer look at Thursday’s Arizona versus San Diego State matchup and figure out which side of the spread has the most value to wager on.

Arizona at San Diego State Betting Story Lines

The Wildcats want their defense to be their identity this season. Head Coach Sean Miller believes a strong defensive presence will “feed” into their fast-break opportunities and create offense throughout the year. Arizona allowed only 18 first-half points during their blowout of Long Beach State on Monday. The team had three players score in double-figures—Gordon, Brandon Ashley, and Kaleb Tarczewski—and had two players with double-digit rebounds—Gordon and Tarczewski. The Wildcats also received eight assists from T.J McConnell and played an excellent four quarters of basketball overall. The one area where the team would like to see improvement is in their free-throw shooting. Arizona shot 16-for-24 from the line and made only 66 percent of their attempts. The team shot 58 percent from the field and 41 percent from the three-point line.

San Diego State has played only one game this season and will be coming off of five days of rest when they play the Wildcats on Thursday night. The Aztecs had an impressive 36-point win over UC Riverside on Friday night and will immediately jump into one of their toughest games on the schedule. San Diego State has not played a Top 10 team in nearly three years and will have their work cut out for them against the Wildcats. However, the team has won 40 of their last 41 nonconference home games and hopes to continue that trend. San Diego State held UC Riverside to 1-for-9 from behind that arc and plans to not give up any easy threes to an Arizona team that thrives on scoring from long distance.

Arizona at San Diego State NCAA Betting Odds and Key Trends

The Wildcats opened as one-point favorites with a vig of -110 at BetOnline. The total was off the board for this matchup. Arizona’s “over” has hit five times during their last eight matchups against the Mountain Western Conference. The team is also 4-1 ATS in their last five nonconference matchups and has the same overall ATS during their last five overall games. The Wildcats are 1-5 ATS during their last six road games, and they have not covered a spread against Mountain Western teams in their last six attempts.

The Aztecs are 5-0 ATS during their last five games against Pac-12 teams, and they are 8-3 during their last 11 games against nonconference teams. The team has not played well during Thursday games and has a 1-4 ATS record over their last five. The Aztecs have also gone “under” in five of their last seven overall matchups.

Free College Basketball Picks: Arizona at San Diego State Predictions

San Diego State is a very good school with a talented group of players. However, there is no reason that the Wildcats should not be able to cover this spread. Yes, the game is on the road, and it is still early in the season. Arizona considers themselves legitimate title contenders and will be ready to earn another impressive win and prove to the rest of the nation just how good they are. Expert Aaron Gordon to have another big game as the Wildcats cover this spread.

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Read more articles by George Monroy