Dec. 29, 2000
SAN DIEGO -
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OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS (7-1/0-0 BIG 12) at SAN DIEGO STATE AZTECS (7-3/0-0 MWC)
DATE: Saturday, December 30, 2000 TIME: 7:30 p.m. PST (announced)/7:34 p.m. PST (tip) SITE: Cox Arena at Aztec Bowl (12,414) in San Diego, Calif. TELEVISION: None. RADIO: All San Diego State games are broadcast on radio. The Oklahoma State game will be carried on KPOP AM-1360 and can be heard via the SDSU internet home page with Jim Stone calling the action. OFFICIAL WEBSITE: www.goaztecs.com THE SERIES: Tied 1-1.
*?- The Sagarin Ratings show San Diego State as the fourth most improved team in the country, jumping from a preseason rating of 262 to 118 as of Dec. 29. (page 4)
*?-?The Aztecs have won three straight games for the first time since the 1996-97 season. (page 2)
*?-?Aztec coach Steve Fisher is 2-1 lifetime against both Eddie Sutton and Oklahoma State. Fisher-coached teams eliminated the Cowboys from the NCAA Tournament in 1992 and the Postseason NIT in 1997. (page 3)
*?-?Junior forward Randy Holcomb has scored in double-figures all 10 San Diego State games this season. That is the second longest streak in the last 20 years to open an SDSU career. (page 5)
NOTE OF THE WEEK: Oklahoms State is the fifth San Diego State opponent which the Aztecs played in both the 1999-2000 and 2000-01 seasons. San Diego State has shown an average improvement of 16.8 points per game. The Aztecs have already avenged losses from last season to New Mexico State and Arizona State.
Aztecs Carry Three-Game Win Streak Against 2000 NCAA Elite Eight Opponent Oklahoma State, Look to Tie Division I Era-Record for Wins Through December Two coaches that have combined for 28 NCAA Tournament Appearances, five NCAA Final Fours and one National Championship meet when Oklahoma State, led by legendary coach Eddie Sutton, plays at San Diego State and second-year coach Steve Fisher on Saturday night at Cox Arena. The game is part of a men's-women's doubleheader with the Aztec women playing Northern Arizona at 5 p.m. with the nightcap between the Cowboys and the Aztecs as a hard start at 7:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on KPOP-AM 1360 (San Diego). San Diego State ran its winning streak to three games, its longest since the 1996-97 season -?110 games ago, by defeating its second consecutive Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opponent with a 79-69 victory over Norfolk State Saturday night. With seven victories this season the Azatcs have equaled their win total from the 42 games prior to this season and with a 7-1 mark at Cox Arena this season, the Aztecs have equaled their win total from their win total from their 22 home games prior to the 2000-01 campaign. Oklahoma State is 7-1 this season and has won four straight, including an 86-45 victory over Lamar on Dec. 22. An Elite Eight team that won 27 games a year ago, the Cowboys are ranked 29th in the current USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll and 31st in the Associated Press poll.
Aztecs Claim Mythical MEAC Champ-ionship with Victory over Norfolk State San Diego State made a claim for the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship by knocking off conference-leading Norfolk State 79-69 on Thursday night. The victory, the third in a row for the Aztecs, was the second straight win over a MEAC school after disposing of Morgan State a week earlier. The Aztecs shot 53.6 percent, held the Spartans to six field goals, had nine players score and eight players record an assist in racing out to a 37-23 halftime lead. San Diego State used a 15-5 burst to open the second half and led by 24 points with 16:09 remaining. But Norfolk State, which played Seton Hall to within 10 points earlier this season, responded with a 25-4 run to cut the Aztec advantage to three points with nine minutes to play. San Diego State scored the next five points and the Spartans got no closer than five points the rest of the way. Junior forward Randy Holcomb recorded his second consecutive double-double and the third of his career with a team-high 19 points and a career-high and game-high 11 rebounds. Fellow frontcourt mate Myron Epps tallied in double figures with 18 points. The junior forward who has 48 career double-figure scoring games, was 7-for-9 from the field and has shot 50 percent or better from the floor in nine of his 10 games this season. Junior point guard Deandre Moore also tallied in double figures with 14 points while adding four assists and four steals.
Postgame Notes: Wrapping Up the Norfolk State Game With the victory, San Diego State improves to 7-3. The seven victories this season equal the total number of wins San Diego State had in the 42 games prior to this season. San Diego State has won three consecutive games for the first time since the 1996-97 season when the Aztecs won five in a row from Dec. 14, 1996 through Jan. 4, 1997. The Aztecs went 109 consecutive games without winning three straight. For the first time since the 1996-97 season and only the second time in 16 years, San Diego State has won at least seven of its first 10 games to open the season. The Aztecs are four games over the .500 mark for the first time since being 12-8 after an 83-67 victory over Air Force on Feb. 6, 1997. The Aztecs will enter the Oklahoma State game four games above .500, marking the first time in 100 games that is the case. San Diego State won for the fifth time in the month of December, marking the most victories in a calendar month since claiming six victories in December of 1996. The Aztecs still have a game this month, playing host to Oklahoma State on Saturday. San Diego State has clinched its second consecutive winning month, marking the first time the Aztecs have had consecutive winning months since March and November of 1995. This season, the Aztecs posted a 3-1 record and is 4-2 in December with one game remaining. In March of '95, the Aztecs were 3-1 and opened the 1995-96 season with a 2-0 mark in November. San Diego State is 7-1 at Cox Arena this season. The seven wins equals the total number of wins San Diego State posted in the 22 home games prior to this season. San Diego State has six double-digit victories this season. That number equals the total number of double-digit victories in the 77 games prior to this season. For only the second time this season San Diego State did not score the first points of the game. Oddly enough San Diego State is 2-0 this season when its opponent strikes first. San Diego State enjoyed a halftime advantage for the ninth time in 10 games this season. During the 1999-2000 campaign, the Aztecs led at intermission only five times. San Diego State is 7-2 this season and 10-4 in the Fisher era when ahead after 20 minutes. With 19 points, Randy Holcomb scored in double figures for the 10th consecutive game. A native of Chicago, Holcomb has scored in double figures in every game since joining the Aztecs and has 16 career double-digit scoring games. Holcomb also recorded his second straight double-double and the third of his career. Myron Epps finished with 18 points to record his 47th career double-digit scoring game and reach the plateau for the ninth time in 10 games this season. The junior forward has shot 50 percent or better from the floor in nine of 10 games this season. With two three-point field goals, David Abramowitz moved into a tie for fifth place on the San Diego State career chart. The junior guard has 76 career treys to tie Berry Randle on the Aztec charts. Deandre Moore scored 14 points for his fourth double-digit scoring game of the season and the fifth of his career. Know Thy Enemy: About Oklahoma St. Location: Stillwater, Okla. Founded: 1890 Enrollment: 21,216 President: Dr. James Halligan Athletic Director: Terry Don Phillips Nickname: Cowboys Colors: Orange and Black Arena (Capacity): Gallagher-Iba (13,611) Conference: Big 12
SDSU-Oklahoma State Series History Saturday marks the third meeting between Oklahoma State and San Diego State, with the series tied at one win apiece. Last season, Oklahoma State held San Diego State to just seven first-half field goals and built a 47-19 halftime lead before posting a 97-63 victory on Dec. 12 in Oklahoma City, Okla. The Cowboys forced 23 Aztec turnovers and outrebounded San Diego State 40-24. Marcello Correa led all players with 22 points, while Desmond Mason led four Oklahoma State players in double figures with 20 points. San Diego State claimed the only other meeting between the teams -?and the only previous encounter in San Diego -?with a 104-100 win on Dec. 13, 1979. San Diego State's all-time leader in assists and 15-time Major League Baseball All-Star Tony Gwynn recorded a double-double with 15 points and 10 assists in the contest. Jerry Brown scored 23 points and Joe Mendoza added 22 for the Aztecs. Ed Odom led the Cowboys with 39 points on the strength of 16-of-25 shooting from the field. San Diego State has played 11 of the 12 members of the Big 12 Conference, posting a very respectable 16-16 mark against members of the league. This is only the Aztecs' second meeting against a member of the league since 1992. San Diego State's last victory over a Big 12 school came on December 4, 1989, when the Aztecs defeated Texas Tech 51-50. Steve Fisher is 2-1 lifetime against Oklahoma State, including victories over the Cowboys in the 1992 NCAA Tournament and the 1997 Postseason NIT. In '92 Fisher's Wolverines defeated Oklahoma State 75-72 in the regional semifinal, en route to the NCAA championship game. It was the second of three national title game appearances for Fisher, who won the national championship in 1989, but fell to Duke in 1992 (in 1993 North Carolina defeated Michigan for the national title). In 1997, Michigan defeated Oklahoma State 75-65 in the second round of the NIT. That year, Fisher guided the Wolverines to the NIT championship, claiming victories over Miami (Fla.), Oklahoma State, Notre Dame, Arkansas and Florida State along the way. Steve Fisher coached teams are 7-5 against members of the Big 12 Conference.
Noting the Cowboys One of the nation's premiere programs, Oklahoma State once again this season is off to a roaring start going 7-1 and riding a four-game winning streak entering Saturday night's game. In his 11th season in Stillwater, Eddie Sutton has guided the Cowboys to eight NCAA Tournaments, including last season when the Cowboys advanced to the regional final before losing to eventual national runner-up Florida. This season, Oklahoma State is just outside the rankings, placing 29th in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll, 31st in the Associated Press poll. The Cowboys were ranked 32nd in the Sagarin Ratings and 41st in the RPI as of December 28. Once again this season the Cowboys are posting impressive numbers on the defensive end of the floor, ranking seventh in the country in field goal percentage defense and 11th nationally in scoring defense. The Cowboys are paced by junior guard Maurice Baker and junior forward Fredrik Jonzen. Baker, a transfer from Dixie Junior College, averages a team-high 16.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and a team-best 4.3 assists. Jonzen is averaging 16.0 points and a team-high 6.6 rebounds in his third season with the Cowboys. Two telling statistics for Oklahoma State this season are field goal percentage and rebounding. The Cowboys are +7.1 on the boards and are shooting 51.7 percent from the field compared to 36.9 for their foes. Cliff Notes: The Aztecs Under second-year coach Steve Fisher, the Aztecs continue to show remarkable progress from last season. At 7-3, the Aztecs have surpassed the number of victories from both last season and the 1998-99 campaign. The Aztecs have shown improvement in every statistical category. San Diego State has started two line-ups thus far, with nine players seeing action in all 10 games. Junior forwards Randy Holcomb and Myron Epps lead a scoring punch which has seen the Aztecs' points per game rise from 62.3 last season to 75.0 this year. Holcomb, a transfer from L.A. City College, leads the team with a 16.8 scoring average and 6.2 rebounds per contest. On Dec. 18, Holcomb became the first Aztec player to earn Mountain West Conference Player of the Week honors. Epps, a two-year starter, has scored in double-figures in 12 of his last 13 games and has shot 50 percent or better from the field in nine of 10 contests this season. The Tulare, Calif., native is averaging 14.6 ppg and 4.5 rpg, while connecting on 61.8 percent of his field goal attempts. A pair of new guards have helped breathe life into the Aztec backcourt. Sophomore guard Deandre Moore and junior Al Faux have paid immediate dividends. Moore, a transfer from Vanderbilt, is averaging 8.2 points and 5.7 assists while Shoreline Junior College transfer Al Faux is third on the team in scoring at 8.5 ppg, despite average playing time of only 21.1 minutes. Against Sacramento State, Faux poured in a career-high 19 points, going 6-of-7 from the field. Senior center Marcelo Correa has connected on 18 of his 32 field goal attempts this season (56.3 percent), while averaging 5.6 points and 4.9 rebounds. He has a team-high 16 blocked shots. Off the bench, the Aztecs bring experience and scoring punch to the backcourt in juniors David Abramowitz and Karlo Kovacic. Abramowitz, a two-year letterwinner, is averaging less than a turnover a game this season and has a better than 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, while Kovacic, a transfer from Modesto Junior College, has hit on 20-of-54 three-point attempts for 37.0 percent. He is averaging 7.3 points per contest. Freshmen Chris Walton and Aerick Sanders have provided valuable assistance in the post positions off the bench. Sanders, a native of Carson, Calif., is averaging 3.9 points and 4.7 rebounds per contest. The freshman already has recorded 15 blocked shots this season. Walton, a San Diego product, has chipped in 2.7 points and 2.8 rebounds per contest.
If You Win, They Will Come The San Diego community continues to respond to the Aztecs improved play. Through eight regular-season home games this season, San Diego State is averaging 3,708 fans, for an increase of 41.6 percent. Last season, the Aztecs averaged 2,618 fans for 15 home games. Earlier this season, the Aztecs played before the 11th largest home crowd in school history and the second biggest crowd of the Cox Arena era when the Aztecs play host to San Diego. San Diego State has played in front of three home crowds of more than 4,000 this year. Last season, the Aztecs drew over 4,000 just one time. The Aztecs have sent the large crowds home happy this season, winning seven of eight games at Cox Arena.
Improvement You Can Measure No one would argue that San Diego State is a much improved team over last season. One way to measure that is to compare scores from repeat opponents from the '99-00 season and the '00-01 seasons. In the four games between repeat opponents, San Diego State has shown 67 points of improvement or 16.8 points per game. On two occasions, the Aztecs have posted revenge victories, avenging losses to New Mexico State and Arizona State Below is a look at opponents that San Diego State has played in each of Fisher's two seasons with the Aztecs. Opponent '99-00 '00-01 +/- New Mexico State L, 49-66 W, 77-62 +32 UC Santa Barbara W, 60-57 L, 77-80 -6 San Diego L, 45-73 L, 52-55 +25 Arizona State L, 85-99 W, 64-62 +16 Oklahoma State L, 63-97
The Nation's Most Improved Team? Not many people would argue that San Diego State is vastly improved over the squad that went 5-23 last season, but is San Diego State one of the most improved team in the country? According to the Sagarin ratings, yes. The Aztecs opened the season as the 262nd team with a 63.66 rating. After a 7-3 start, the Friday edition of the ratings had San Diego State with a 74.34 rating for 118th place. San Diego State is one of just 19 schools that is currently 100 spots higher than its preseason ranking, and has made the fourth biggest jump among all Division I schools in the rankings. Below is a look at the biggest jumps from the preseason Sagarin rating as compared to ratings released on Dec. 29. Rk. Team Preseason As of 12/29 +/- 1. Holy Cross 291 91 +200 2. Arkansas-LR 257 69 +188 3. Georgia State 198 28 +170 4. San Diego State 262 118 +144 5. Md.-Baltimore Co. 280 137 +143 6. Monmouth 271 138 +133 UC Irvine 228 95 +133 8. Baylor 159 34 +125 9. Boston College 137 16 +121 10. Richmond 132 12 +120
Most Wins Before the New Year With one game remaining in December, the Aztecs have posted seven victories. That is one win off the school record for victories through the end of December. This is the ninth time since moving to Division I for the 1968-69 season, that San Diego State has won at least seven games by the end of December. In six of the previous eight occasions, the Aztecs went on to post a winning record. Below is a look at the most victories San Diego State has posted prior to New Year's Day. Most November-December Victories in School History 1. 1996-97 8-2 12-15 overall 1984-85 8-2 23-8 overall, NCAA Tourney 1981-82 8-2 20-9 overall, Postseason NIT 1982-83 8-2 18-10 overall 1971-72 8-2 18-10 overall 1989-90 8-5 13-18 overall 7. 2000-01 7-3 One game remaining in Dec. 1983-84 7-3 15-13 overall 1978-79 7-3 15-12 overall 10. 1980-81 6-2 15-12 overall 1988-89 6-4 12-17 overall 1987-88 6-5 12-17 overall
Comparing the Numbers Through 10 games, the improvement in San Diego State from last season and this season is apparent. In the season opener against UC San Diego, San Diego State shot 55.0 percent from the field, the highest total during the Fisher era. Through 10 games the Aztecs are holding opponents to 38.0 percent field goal percentage while outrebounding their opponents and committing fewer turnovers than their opponents. Below is a look at how other numbers from the first eight games stack up against last season. 1999-2000 2000-2001 Record 5-23 7-3 PPG 62.3 75.0 Opp. PPG 74.9 63.6 Scoring Margin -11.6 +11.4 FG Percentage 40.9 45.3 3FG Percentage 29.9 34.5 Free Throw Percentage 68.0 62.8 Opponent FG Percentage 45.6 38.0 Rebound Margin -6.3 +0.5 Turnover Margin -1.6 +3.0
Wired For Cox San Diego State has posted a 12-4 record in non-conference home games during the Steve Fisher era. A marked improvement over the 2-6 mark the Aztecs posted during the 1998-99 campaign, the year prior to Fisher's arrival. This season the Aztecs are 7-1 in Cox Arena, with the one setback being a three-point loss to San Diego.
Holcomb Earns MWC PoW Honors Junior forward Randy Holcomb was named Mountain West Conference Player of the Week for the period ending Dec. 17. Holcomb became the first Aztec to be honored by the Mountain West Conference and the first player to be honored with the weekly award since Jason Richey earned the WAC player of the week award on Dec. 9, 1996. A native of Chicago, Ill., Holcomb scored a game-high 22 points, including seven of the Aztecs' final nine points in San Diego State's upset victory over Arizona State. Since winning the award, Holcomb has recorded consecutive double-doubles with 18 points and 11 rebounds against Morgan State and 19 points and 11 rebounds versus Norfolk State. Holcomb leads San Diego State in scoring with 16.8 ppg and has recorded double-figure scoring games in all 10 of the Aztecs games this season.
Double-Digit Streaks Randy Holcomb, who has scored in double-figures in 10 consecutive games, has the longest San Diego State streak in three seasons. Holcomb has recorded just the 15th streak of 10 or more consecutive double-figure scoring games in the last 20 years, and owns the second longest streak to start an Aztec career. Jason Richey opened his San Diego State career by scoring in 10+ points in 15 consecutive games. Most Consecutive Double-Digit Scoring Games (Since 1981) 1. Anthony Watson, 84-85, 85-86 31 2. Michael Cage, 82-83, 83-84 27 3. Jason Rickey, 97-98 18 Michael Cage, 1983-84 18 5. Anthony Watson, 84-85 17 6. *-Jason Richey, 96-97 15 Shawn Jamison, 89-90 15 8. Marty Dow, 90-91 14 9. Carlus Groves, 93-94 12 Shawn Jamison, 89-90 12 Michael Best, 88-89 12 12. Berry Randle, 94-95 11 13. *-Randy Holcomb, 00-01 10 Roy Kruiswyk, 97-98 10 Kevin Betts, 97-98 10 * -?Indicates streak started in first career Aztec game.
The Most Dominating Five Games of the Division I Era In a Division I history that spans 33 seasons and 902 games, the five games San Diego State put together to open the 2000 campaign are the most dominating in school history. By outscoring their foes by 94 points (400-306) in the first five games this season, the Aztecs broke the previous mark of 90 points (417-327) set by the 1984-85 Western Athletic Conference champions and NCAA Tournament team. That season, San Diego State opened with wins at UC Irvine (86-77), vs. Morgan State (128-68), vs. San Diego (57-53), vs. UC Santa Barbara (84-69), at Long Beach State (62-60). This year, the Aztecs have won four games by 15 points or more, three by 22 points or more and two by 32 points or more, to break the record.
Defeating the Pac-10 With a victory over Arizona State, the Aztecs won just their second game versus the Pacific 10 in their last 13 games dating back to the 1990-91 season. San Diego State also snapped a four-game losing streak against the Sun Devils by recording its first victory in the series since Jan. 7, 1978.
Fast Starts Through 10 games, San Diego State has fans trying to recall the last time the Aztecs opened a campaign as dominant as the 2000 squad has. The last time San Diego State was 7-3 through 10 games was the 1996-97 season (four years ago). The last time San Diego State scored at least 750 points (74.1 ppg) through 10 games was the 1996-97 squad (four years ago). That season the Aztecs had 853 points through 10 contests. The last time San Diego State allowed fewer than 636 points (63.6 ppg) through 10 games was the 1958-59 team (42 years ago). That season the Aztecs allowed 604 points through 10 games. The last time the San Diego State team had a +114-point margin through the first 10 games of the season was in 1981-82 (19 years ago). That year, the Aztecs opened 8-2 with a +134 margin.
Making A Defensive Stand Through 10 games, the Aztecs are holding opponents to 38.0 percent field goal shooting and 63.6 points per contest. Through games of Dec. 18, San Diego State ranked 12th nationally in field goal percentage defense.
Playing the Field One area in which the 1999-2000 Aztecs struggled was shooting. San Diego State shot just 40.9 percent from the floor last season. In addition the squad was 29.9 percent from behind the arc. This season, the Aztecs are shooting 45.3 percent from the field, including 34.5 percent from three-point range. Individually, senior center Marcelo Correa has hit on 18-of-32 field goal attempts, for 56.3 percent. In addition to connecting on his first nine field goal attempts of the season, he is 20-for-26 from the free throw line for 76.9 percent. Junior guard Al Faux has given the Aztec backcourt a spark. In addition to dishing out 27 assists, Faux is averaging 8.5 points per game, including 11-of-27 (40.7 percent) from three-point range. Junior forward Myron Epps has made 50 percent or more of his field goal attempts in nine of 10 games this season. Epps is shooting 61.8 percent from the field (55-of-89) while averaging 14.6 points per contest.
Fisher in Lidlifters Steve Fisher is 9-1 in season openers, including a 7-1 record while at Michigan. Fisher has claimed nine consecutive season opening games dating back to an 82-75 loss to Arizona in the Tip-Off Classic in the opening contest of the 1989-90 campaign.
The Future Two more newcomers who will not play this season are transfers Tony Bland (a junior from Syracuse) and Brandon Smith (a senior-to-be from Michigan). Both players will be eligible for the 2001-02 season.
Fishing in November Steve Fisher's teams have been known for their fast starts, and no place is that better demonstrated than in his record in the month of November. Steve Fisher has coached teams to a 17-7 record (70.8 percent) in the month of November, including a perfect 9-0 record in November home games. In home contests, the veteran coach posted a 5-0 record in the month while with the Wolverines and then helped the Aztecs snap a six-game November slide with a 73-57 victory over UC Riverside last season. His victories over UC San Diego, New Mexico State and Florida Atlantic this season have kept his home November record perfect. The seven games Fisher's teams have lost have come to some of the nation's premier programs: Arizona (three times: '89, '94 and '95), Arizona State ('95), Georgia Tech ('95), New Mexico State ('99) and Fresno State ('00). Beating a Fisher-coached team in the opening month is a good way to assure yourself a spot in postseason play. Of the six teams to defeat a Fisher coached squad in the month of Nov. prior to this season, five have advanced to NCAA tournament play and one (New Mexico State) to postseason NIT competition. All five of the teams to advance to the NCAA tournament had a seed of five or higher. Oddly enough, due to tough competition in early-season tournaments, Fisher's teams have a better November record on the road (3-2), than at neutral sites (5-5).