Through half of the Mountain West season, Air Force has faced several quality big men. And on Tuesday, the Falcons will see their toughest test yet.

Air Force hosts No. 24 San Diego State, led by senior forward Jaedon LeDee. LeDee leads the Mountain West in scoring, averaging 20.3 points per game.

“I think he’s the strongest guy in all of college basketball,” Air Force coach Joe Scott said. “I certainly wouldn’t use the word weakness to describe him.”

LeDee is playing his fifth year of college basketball. He played one season at Ohio State, spent two years at TCU and is now in his second year at San Diego State.

This year is LeDee’s first as an everyday player, as he started a combined four games in his first seasons. But LeDee has appeared in 139 games in five years, well ahead of anyone on Air Force’s roster, which doesn’t have a senior.

“It’s physical, but it’s also mental because he’s very old,” Scott said of the 24-year-old forward. “His greatest strength is his strength, and we’re going to have to deal with that.”

Standing 6-foot-9 and weighing 240 pounds, LeDee can hurt a team in multiple ways.

LeDee is shooting 55% from the field and 38.7% from three, both stellar numbers for a big man. His 8.6 rebounds per game are second in the Mountain West, behind only Utah State’s Great Osobor.

“You have to make sure that this guy’s not getting 3-point shots: Stop him inside and outside,” Scott said. “When they get both, we have no chance.”

The Falcons have struggled with opposing big men in conference play.

Most recently, Air Force allowed Boise State forward Tyson Degenhart to score a career-high 29 points on 11-of-12 shooting. The Falcons gave up 32 points to Osobor in their conference opener and 25 to New Mexico’s JT Toppin.

LeDee is just a piece of the puzzle for SDSU. The Aztecs, fresh off a trip to the National Championship game in 2023, are 17-5 and have five players averaging more than eight points per game.

But for Air Force to have a chance against the Aztecs, neutralizing LeDee is a necessity.

“In a way, we have to deal with that every game; he’s just probably the strongest of them all,” Scott said. “It’s going to come down to seeing how we can deal with the rebounding aspect, the interior play aspect. We’re going to have to be ready to deal with that for 40 minutes.”

NBA factory

San Diego State has produced a steady line of NBA players. Jaedon LeDee, who tested the NBA draft waters after last year and is currently leading the nation in scoring, could soon join that list. Here’s how the four former Aztecs currently on NBA rosters fared vs. Air Force.

PPG RPG APG W-L

Kawhi Leonard (2009-11) 15.3 9.8 2 4-0

Jalen McDaniels (2017-19) 13.0 10.5 1.5 3-1

Nathan Mensah (2018-23) 6.6 5.6 0.3 6-1

Malachi Flynn (2019-20) 16.5 7.5 7.5 2-0

San Diego State forward Jaedon LeDee (13) brings the ball up against BYU during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Friday, Nov. 10, 2023, in Provo, Utah. (AP Photo/Isaac Hale)

Isaac Hale

San Diego State forward Jaedon LeDee, center, drives to the basket against Colorado State in a Jan. 30 game in Fort Collins.

The Associated Press