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San Diego State forward Malik Pope was a key reason to why the Aztecs defeated Boise State 87-68 in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West tournament as he scored a season-high 22 points and pulled down 10 rebounds.
Pope had a scare late in the game and fell to the ground and held his left knee. After the game, Pope said that he had a "minor hyper-extension" of his left knee, and said he would be fine to play against No. 2 Colorado State.
Well... not so fast. Pope is considered a game-time decision.
San Diego State's Malik Pope (knee) is a game time decision for tonight's game against Colorado State, per Steve Fisher.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 10, 2017
Pope likely had some adrenaline when talking about advancing and moving on, but once that wore off and he went back to the hotel then perhaps the injury presented itself to be worse than thought.
Pope did miss nine games earlier this year and the team went 5-4 with one of their best players on the mend.
One plus about playing this game out West means a later tip and the San Diego State vs. Colorado State game does not tip until approximately 9:30 p.m. PT.