The Nevada men’s basketball team hosts San Jose State on Tuesday night. Nevada Sports Net’s Chris Murray breaks down the game with his three keys to victory and prediction. This feature is presented in partnership with Bradley, Drendel & Jeanney.

San Jose State (6-12, 1-6 MW) at Nevada (13-5, 5-2)

When: Tuesday, 7 p.m. Pacific

Where: Lawlor Events Center (11,536 capacity)

TV/Radio: Nevada Sports Net/95.5 FM

Online:NevadaSportsNet.com

Betting line: Nevada by 17.5; total of 142.5

Three keys for Nevada to win

1. Stay fully focused: After an 81-66 win over MW cellar-dweller Air Force, the Wolf Pack gets the conference’s other cellar-dweller, San Jose State, which is 1-6 in league play with its lone with over Air Force. San Jose State has been more competitive than Air Force in conference games, but (a) that’s not saying much and (b) not by much. The Spartans’ six league losses have come by a combined 101 points, or 16.8 points per game. Their closes league loss was by 13 points at home to San Diego State. San Jose State has had some good stretches of play against Utah State and San Diego State, but this is not the kind of team that should challenge you at home if you’re full focused on the task at hand.

2. Take advantage of the interior: San Jose State is a small team outside of center Sadraque Nganga (6-10/220), who plays 23 minutes per game but doesn’t offer any rim protection (just three blocks in 378 minutes). In fact, San Jose State has almost no rim protection with the Spartans’ 2.1 blocks per game ranking 343rd out of 365 Division I teams. That lack of an interior defensive presence has made San Jose State’s paint defense easy pickings. Opponents make 57.3 percent of their two-point shots against the Spartans, which ranks 350th in the nation. Nevada has struggled finishing around the rim this season, making just 52 percent of its “close twos,” but this is the perfect opponent to dominant in the paint.

3. No comfortable shots early: San Jose State has a functional offense with one of the MW’s better cast of shooters, both from the mid-range, 3-point line and charity stripe. This team can make shots when they’re open, with the Spartans shooting 36.3 percent from three (62nd in the nation). In their six wins, the Spartans have made 47-of-115 threes (40.9 percent). Nevada can’t let San Jose State get comfortable early on offense, which it did allow Air Force to do over the weekend with the Falcons banging 14 3-pointers. San Jose State is a far more dangerous offensive team with four players averaging double-figures in scoring and seven tallying at least 7.5 points per game. The Spartans haven’t been able to sustain a high level over 40 minutes but it has shown the ability to catch fire over stretches.

Prediction

Nevada 85, San Jose State 70: Nevada has won 39 of its last 43 games against San Jose State, so it has always been a shocking result the few times the Spartans have upset the Wolf Pack this century. This should not be one of those occurrences. In addition to their struggles this year, San Jose State is banged up with seven players listed as “out” or “questionable” on the team’s availability report, including the Spartans’ top-four scorers. Nevada should be able to take advantage of San Jose State’s porous defense and coast to a comfortable victory. Season record: 12-6

Columnist Chris Murray provides insight on Northern Nevada sports. Contact him at crmurray@sbgtv.com or follow him on Twitter at @ByChrisMurray.