Jan. 25, 2000
San Diego -
The Week
The San Diego State Aztecs, 5-11 overall and 0-3 in Mountain West Conference play, return to action this week with a pair of road games. San Diego State visits Colorado State on Thursday (7 p.m. Mountain) and then heads north to Wyoming for a Saturday night contest (7 p.m. Mountain). Before meeting San Diego State, Colorado State travels to Utah for a "Big Monday" game. Wyoming will be playing its first game in a week when SDSU hits Laramie.
TV Time
Both games this week will be carried live locally on Cox 4 as part of the SportsWest television package with Dave McCann and former Brigham Young All-American Michael Smith calling the action. Both games start at 6 p.m. local time.
San Diego State Lately
The Aztecs are 5-11 overall and 0-3 in MWC play.
The Aztecs have lost five straight games for the first time this season.
San Diego State's last victory came Jan. 2nd vs. High Point.
SDSU has won five games this season, surpassing last season's win total by a game (4-22).
Earlier this month, SDSU won consecutive games for the first time since February of 1998.
SDSU is 5-5 at home, 0-5 on the road and 0-1 on neutral courts.
Last Time Out
San Diego State is coming off an 83-55 loss at UNLV.
A weary Aztec squad, coming off a triple-overtime loss to Air Force just 48 hours earlier, gave up 23 offensive rebounds to the Rebels and committed 22 turnovers in the loss. The AFA game marked the first triple-overtime contest in Aztec history.
San Diego State got 22 points off the bench, including nine from Marcelo Correa, who was not part of the starting five for the first time this season.
The Aztecs were once again led by sophomore Myron Epps, who tossed in 22 points.
SDSU's shooting percentage at UNLV, .308, was its second worst of the season (the Aztecs shot .290 at USD).
Joe Mann made his first career start in the game at Vegas.
The combination of Mann, Myron Epps, Vincent Okotie, Bradley Jackson and Donte Wilson became the ninth different lineup to start for the Aztecs this season.
CSU-SDSU
Colorado State leads the series with the Aztecs, 27-12, but the two schools have not met since 1997.
CSU has won three straight in the series and 15 of the last 17 games.
The Aztecs have not won in Fort Collins since 1982 (57-50). The Aztecs have lost 14 straight at CSU.
The two teams met every season from 1978-79 to 1996-97 before WAC expansion put the series on hold.
Steve Fisher has never faced the Rams.
One of the best offensive games in SDSU history was turned in against Colorado State. Kim Goetz scored 42 points against the Rams in 1979. It is the third best game ever turned in by an Aztec.
Scouting The Rams
Colorado State enters the Utah contest 11-6 overall and 1-2 in MWC play, good enough for a fifth-place tie.
The Rams have victories over Oregon State, Colorado, UCLA and Washington State and losses to St. Bonaventure and at Arizona State.
Both the Aztecs and the Rams lost by 15 at ASU.
In conference play, CSU has a road win at Wyoming and a one-point home loss to New Mexico. The other loss came at Brigham Young.
The Rams are led by Ceedric Goodwyn's 18.9 points per game.
CSU is among the national leaders in three-point shooting and tops in the Mountain West Conference (.427).
Wyoming-San Diego State
The Cowboys lead the series with SDSU, 24-18.
San Diego State won the last meeting, in the 1998 WAC Tournament, 60-57.
San Diego State has won eight of the last 12 games.
In Laramie, the Aztecs have dropped six straight games, dating back to 1992. SDSU is 2-17 in Laramie all-time with two of those losses coming in overtime.
Scouting The Cowboys
Wyoming is coming off a 69-61 loss at Utah.
The loss dropped the Cowboys to 11-8 overall and 1-3 in conference play.
Wyoming is 5-1 at home this season.
Anthony Blakes leads Wyoming in scoring (13.5), with teammate Josh Davis right behind (13.4).
Davis is third in the league in rebounding (8.4).
Opposing Schedule
While the Aztecs are 5-11 overall, there is some consolation in knowing the losses came against quality opposition. San Diego State has suffered setbacks at the hands of:
Southern California, which currently leads the Pac 10 with a perfect 5-0 league mark.
Oklahoma State, a team that has been ranked in the Top 25 all season and is just one-half game off the Big 12 lead.
New Mexico State, a team that is 12-4 overall and 3-1 (second in its division) in conference play.
Ball State, a team with two conference losses in overtime, but still running second in the MAC West.
San Diego, a team coming off an overtime loss to Gonzaga and currently third in the WCC.
Utah, the only unbeaten team in MWC play.
Epps Watch
San Diego State's Myron Epps joins Mekeli Wesley of BYU and Kaspars Kambala as the league's only players listed among the top nine in the league in both scoring and rebounding.
Kamabala, Wesley, Epps and Alex Jensen of Utah are the only league players among the top 10 in scoring, rebounding and FG percentage.
Epps is second in scoring (conference games only) after a week that saw him record 49 points in two losses.
He set a career high with 27 points vs. Air Force, a game in which he played 50 minutes.
More On Epps
The Tulare, Calif., sophomore is averaging 18.4 points over the last nine games, scoring in double figures eight times during that stretch.
He has connected on 18 of his last 31 shots from the floor.
Epps started the season 1-for-8 at the free-throw line, but he has connected on 28 of his last 41 (.682) over the last five games.
He is shooting 6.2 free throws per contest for the season, and he is getting nine charity tosses per game over the last three outings.
Conference Conflicts
The Aztecs are seeking to end a 12-game conference road losing streak and provide SDSU with its first road win under Steve Fisher.
Halfs And Half-nots
The Aztecs have now shot better in the second half eight times in their last nine games (Air Force was the exception).
During those nine games, SDSU has hit 95-of-280 (.339) from the floor before intermission. In the second half, the Aztecs have canned 115-of- 241 (.477).
Noting The Aztecs
In the last two games, the Aztecs have allowed 42 offensive rebounds and 140 field-goal attempts by the opposition.
During those same two games, SDSU has been outscored behind the three-point line, 51-15.
San Diego State is second in the league in free-throw percentage (conference games only) at .720.
Mountain West opponents are shooting just .431 vs. SDSU, the fourth best mark in the conference.
The Aztecs are in the midst of their second three-game road trip of the season.
Wyoming guard Aaron Abrams is from San Diego County (Vista).
David Abramowitz
Has 19 three-pointers to lead the Aztecs...Has hit 18 of his 21 FT attempts...Is 11th in the MWC with 3.07 assists per game...Ended a seven-game stretch without reaching double figures by scoring 12 at Pacific and 10 vs. Utah...Hit four treys at UOP...Had seven assists (career high) vs. UCSB ...Missed the ASU game and played just nine minutes against USC due to back spasms...Ranks 13th in the conference with 1.33 steals per game.
Marcelo Correa
Has come off the bench the past two games after starting the first 14...Ranks 18th in the league with a scoring average of 11.1...Is 12th in FG percentage (.504)...Has fouled out of five games and picked up four fouls in eight more games...Is second on the team in scoring (11.1) and first in rebounding (6.4)...Has scored in double figures twice in the last 10 games after reaching that mark five times in the first six games of the season...Leads the Aztecs with 27 steals and 19 blocks...Set a career-high with 22 points in the opener and tied it with 22 against Oklahoma State...Has two scoring-rebounding double-doubles (22-15 vs. Riverside and 10-10 vs. New Mexico State).
Myron Epps Is SDSU's leading scorer (14.5) and is second in rebounding (5.9)...Averaging 21.7 points in three MWC games, good for second in the league...Is listed among the top 10 in four conference categories (scoring, rebounding, FG percentage and offensive rebounds)...Has led SDSU in scoring seven times in the last nine games...Shooting .540 from the floor...Recorded a double-double vs. Ball State (18 points, 10 rebounds).
Bradley Jackson
Is second in the MWC with an assist average of 4.19 per game...Is 10th in steals (1.44)...Had a season-low one turnover vs. UNLV in 21 minutes of play...Is second on the team with 23 steals, but has not picked up one in either of the last two games...Has at least four rebounds in each of the last six games ...Shooting .774 from the line, good enough for sixth in the conference...Had 11 assists vs. High Point, the most by an Aztec in four years...Scoring high is 17 twice (South Carolina State and High Point).
Michael Marion
Set a career rebounding high with seven vs. UNLV...Played 27 minutes vs. the Rebels, marking his longest outing since the USD contest.... Has been in the starting lineup seven times this season...Has scored in double figures four times with a high of 13 at Arizona State...Sat out the SCSU game due to strep throat...Had six rebounds against USD and three assists in the opener vs. Riverside as well as in the win over Santa Barbara.
Vince Okotie
Has started eight games this season, including the last four...FT percentage has climbed to .789 after he hit .615 from the stripe last season.....Had four assists vs. USC...Hit the game-clinching free throws vs. UCSB...Scored 17 points off the bench at Arizona State and got 14 as a starter vs. Ball State...Played a season-high 35 minutes against Air Force...Rebounding high is six vs. South Carolina State.
Donte Wilson
The lone senior on the roster...Has started 10 games this season, including the last eight...Has scored in double figures three times this season, most recently at Pacific (10)...Had six assists at Pacific...Has scored a total of 13 points over the last three games.