March 19, 2015
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By Mick McGrane (@MickOnTheMesa)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Although Dwayne Polee II has scored in double figures in two of his last four games while shooting 50.0 percent from the three-point line, SDSU coach Steve Fisher said Friday that he was unsure whether Polee would start against St. John's in Friday's second-round NCAA Tournament game against St. John's at Time Warner Cable Arena.
Polee, who has accounted for 35 points, 11 rebounds and six steals in 97 minutes since returning six games ago, was in the starting lineup for the final game of the Mountain West Tournament on Saturday.
"Our starting lineup in years past has always been the same, it never varied," Fisher said. "If somebody got hurt or got sick, as soon as they were back they were in the starting lineup. A year ago, Dwayne Polee was our second-best player in February and March to Xavier Thames, so we know he can play."
Polee, who has scored 11 or more points in seven of 18 games this season, has played 15-plus minutes in four straight games.
"I have to make a decision: Are we better with Dwayne in the starting lineup or be that emotional lift off the bench in the first wave of substitutions? I've not fully decided that yet. Everybody wants to start, but Dwayne is such a neat, wonderful, young guy, I truly think he'll accept either of those roles with a smile on his face."
We Meet Again
SDSU's Winston Shepard and St. John's guard D'Angelo Harrison, middle-school rivals while growing up in Houston, will resume the battle for bragging rights when their respective teams square off on Friday.
Shepard also was recruited by St. John's but had absolutely no affinity for cold.
"(Harrison) is one of the people that I'm closest to in the whole world," Shepard said. "D'Angelo was always one of the best players in the city. It took me a little while to start coming into my own. He went to Dulles, I went to Lake Olympia, so we began playing against each other.
"When I was in 8th grade, he was a freshman, and we started playing on the same AAU team. My mother (Eurica) had to work late at night, so his grandmother offered to pick me up and take me back and forth to practice and tournaments."
Shepard is averaging 11.1 points, while Harrison leads St. John's with an average of 17.5 points per game.
"I've known Winston for a long time now," said Harrison, "so I already know what his mindset is coming into this game. It's going to be fun."
Test of Wills
St. John's, which averages 71.2 points per game, can be expected to test SDSU's lofty defensive ranking.
The Aztecs, whose defensive average of 53.1 points per game ranks second nationally, have limited opponents to 53 or fewer points on 18 occasions this season, including three times in the last four games.
St. John's, meanwhile, has not scored fewer than 53 points in a game this season. The Red Storm is 14-2 when scoring 70 or more points this season and 7-9 when held to 69 or fewer.
SDSU has allowed only three opponents to reach or exceed 70 points this season, with two of those contests finishing in overtime. The Aztecs are 21-3 when allowing 57 or fewer points and 5-5 when their opponent reaches 58 points.