Feb. 12, 2001
SAN DIEGO -
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Game 22 BRIGHAM YOUNG COUGARS (16-7/5-3 MWC) at SAN DIEGO STATE AZTECS (11-10/1-7 MWC)
DATE: Monday, February 12, 2001 TIME: 7:07 p.m. PST (tip)/7:05 p.m. PST (announced) SITE: Cox Arena at Aztec Bowl (12,414) in San Diego TELEVISION: SportsWest (Channel 4-San Diego). Tom Kirkland (play-by-play), Craig Hislop (analysis), Michael Minor (producer). Satellite Coordinates: Telstar 5, Transponder K-12. RADIO: KPOP-AM 1360 (San Diego) and via the SDSU internet home page. Jim Stone (play-by-play), Dave Marcus (producer). OFFICIAL WEBSITE: www.goaztecs.com THE SERIES: Brigham Young leads 33-13.
AZTEC HEADLINES *?-?The Sagarin Ratings show San Diego State as the 11th most improved team in the country, jumping from a preseason rating of 262 to 153 as of Feb. 12. (page 4) *?-?The 11 victories this season equal the total number of wins San Diego State had in the 62 games prior to this season. (page 2) *?-?Through 13 regular-season home games this season, San Diego State is averaging 4,421 fans, for an increase of 68.9 percent. Last season, the Aztecs averaged 2,618 fans for 15 home games. (page 4) *?-?Myron Epps is 33 points away from becoming the 18th player in SDSU history with 1,000 career points. (page 4)
Aztecs Conclude Brief Two-Game Homestand with a Monday Night Game Contest Against Brigham Young San Diego State, which is playing consecutive home contests for the first time since Dec. 30 and Jan. 4, concludes a two-game homestand by hosting Brigham Young on Monday night. The Aztec-Cougar game will broadcast live by SportsWest and seen in the San Diego market on Channel 4-San Diego and broadcast by KPOP-AM 1360 (San Diego) and on the internet at goaztecs.com. The Aztecs lost their season-long fourth straight game on Saturday night, a 76-63 decision to Utah. Despite the loss, with an 11-10 record, the Aztecs have their best 21-game record since the 1997-98 squad had a similar mark after 21 games. The 11 wins this season equal the total number of wins for San Diego State in the 62 games prior to this season. Brigham Young had a three-game winning streak snapped Saturday when the Cougars fell to UNLV 68-56 at the Thomas & Mack Center. The Cougars built a 16-point first-half lead but were unable to hold on for the victory. The Aztecs, 10-3 at home this season with victories over Oklahoma State, Arizona State and New Mexico State, will embark on their final road trip of the regular season later this week, playing games at New Mexico on Saturday and at Air Force on Monday.
Utah Shoots Its Way to a 76-63 Victory over San Diego State Utah used hot shooting and a solid defensive effort to hand San Diego State just its third loss at home this season, a 76-63 decision Saturday night at Cox Arena. The Utes shot 54.7 percent from the field, the highest by an Aztec opponent this season and improved to 14-9 overall and 6-3 in conference play. The Aztecs took a 17-14 lead on a Deandre Moore jumper midway through the first half, but Utah responded with a 23-13 run to lead 37-30 at intermission. Utah opened the second stanza with a 13-6 spurt to open up a 14-point advantage with 12:37 remaining. The Aztecs made several runs, cutting the deficit to seven points on three occasions, the final coming on a lay-up by Al Faux with 6:46 remaining. Kevin Bradley came off the bench to pace the Utes with 18 points and six assists. Utah placed four players in double figures and had six players score at least eight points. San Diego State was led by Faux, who came off the bench to score 12 points in 22 minutes of action. Junior forward Randy Holcomb hit double figures for the 20th time in 21 games by tallying 11 points while junior forward Myron Epps and Moore each posted 10 points.
Wrapping Up the Utah Game Although obviously not the outcome San Diego State was hoping for, Utah's 13-point victory, the 12th straight in the series, was the smallest margin of victory for the Utes since an eight-point win on Jan. 15, 1996. Utah's last six victories in the series all were by at least 14 points, with an average margin of 23.3 points. San Diego State set or tied season lows for three-point field goals made (2) and three-point field goals attempted (8). On a positive note, the Aztecs tied a season low for turnovers with 10. Utah shot 54.7 percent from the field, a season-high for a San Diego State opponent. The crowd of 7,164 to see the San Diego State-Utah game was the third largest in the history of Cox Arena and was the second largest home crowd of the 2000-01 season. Three of the four largest crowds in Cox Arena history have occurred this season.
Talkin' Bout A Revolution San Diego State is still turning heads across the country with the amazing turnaround. Below is a look at some of the accomplishments for second-year head coach Steve Fisher and the 2000-01 Aztecs. San Diego State is 11-10 this season. The 11 victories this season equal the total number of wins San Diego State had in the 62 games prior to this season. The 11 victories surpass the number of wins for the Aztecs in the 1998-99 and 1999-2000 seasons combined and equal or are more wins than the Aztecs have posted in five of the last nine years Earlier this season the Aztecs won six consecutive games, tying for the fifth longest winning streak of the Division I era and the longest since the Aztecs won eight straight games in December of 1984. Prior to the streak, San Diego State had gone 109 consecutive games without a three-game winning streak. The Aztecs have already broken three significant losing streaks. San Diego State opened the season by snapping a 17-game overall losing streak with a victory over UC San Diego. On Jan. 6, the Aztecs put to rest a 30-game road losing streak by defeating Loyola Marymount, 61-58. It had been 1,067 days since the Aztecs claimed a road win on Feb. 4, 1998. The Aztecs claimed their first Mountain West Conference victory, snapping a 17-game conference losing streak with the win over Air Force. At 11-10, San Diego State is searching for just its second winning season since the 1984-85 campaign. In 1995-96 the Aztecs finished with a 15-14 record. The Aztecs' dramatic turnaround has carried over to the turnstiles. Attendance for the 2000-01 season is up 68.9 percent over last season and that figure is likely to increase with four Mountain West Conference games remaining. This season the Aztecs have played before crowds of 4,000 or more seven times after drawing only one crowd of more than 4,000 last season.
MASH Update San Diego State has been bitten by the injury bug during the past month, taking its toll on Deandre Moore, Randy Holcomb, Al Faux and Jim Roban. On Jan. 16, the Aztecs learned they would be without freshman Aerick Sanders until at least March 1st due to a stress reaction in his right foot. Sanders, who had played through pain through three weeks, played in all of the first 16 games this season, averaging 3.8 points and 3.8 rebounds. On Jan. 23, Jim Roban reaggravated a back injury during practice and the senior has not played in a game since. Roban participated in live drills on Friday for the first time since the most recent injury. Roban had played in three consecutive games prior to his most recent injury. As for the other injuries, none of the afflicted Aztecs are expected to miss any additional games. Moore (slightly separated left shoulder), Holcomb (sore knee) and Al Faux (flu) have all missed practice time recently, but only Moore and Roban have missed game time.
Know Thy Enemy: About BYU Location: Provo, Utah Founded: 1875 Enrollment: 28,300 President: Merrill J. Bateman Athletic Director: Val Hale Nickname: Cougars Colors: Blue and White Arena (Capacity): Marriott Center (22,700) Conference: Mountain West
Noting the Cougars Brigham Young's three game winning streak was snapped with a 68-56 loss to UNLV on Saturday afternoon in Las Vegas. The loss left the Cougars with a 16-7 record overall and a 5-3 league record. Brigham Young is tied for third place, 1 1/2 games behind first-place Wyoming. The Cougars start four seniors, three of whom average in double figures. Forward Mekeli Wesley, and guards Terrell Lyday and Trent Whiting average in double figures. Wesley is the team leader in points and rebounds at 16.0 ppg and 5.6 rpg. The Provo, Utah, native, tied for game-high honors with 17 points and added six rebounds against UNLV. Lyday is averaging 15.8 ppg while Whiting averages 14.2 ppg. The Cougars are fourth nationally in free throw percentage at 76.7, 18th in field-goal percentage defense at 39.6 and 19th in scoring defense at 61.5. This is the second of four games in eight days for the Cougars, which will play host to Wyoming on Thursday and Colorado State on Saturday.
SDSU-Utah Series History Monday night marks the 47th meeting between Brigham Young and San Diego State, with the Cougars owning a 33-13 series advantage. Brigham Young has claimed six straight victories in the series, including the last three played in San Diego. In each of the last three meeting between the teams, the Aztecs have scored exactly 50 points, losing 72-50, 67-50 and 79-50. Brigham Young has won the last four games by an average of 21.3 points per contest. Earlier this season, Brigham Young tied a school record with 13 three-point field goals in defeating the Aztecs 79-50 at the Marriott Center on Jan. 13. Trent Whiting and Terrell Lyday each connected on five three-point field goals for the Cougars, which made 50.0 percent of their attempts from beyond the arc. In addition to shooting well, Brigham Young held San Diego State to 37.0 percent and utilized a 41-30 rebound advantage in the contest. San Diego State was led by junior forward Randy Holcomb, who scored 13 points and added six rebounds in the game.
Cliff Notes: The Aztecs Under second-year coach Steve Fisher, the Aztecs continue to show remarkable progress from last season. At 11-10, the Aztecs have two more victories than their win total from the 1998-99 and 1999-2000 seasons combined. The Aztecs have shown improvement in every statistical category. San Diego State has started four line-ups thus far, with eight players seeing action in at least 20 of 21 games this season. One area in which the Aztecs have been particularly solid is on defense. San Diego State has held opponents to 67.7 points per contest. More impressive has been a defensive effort that has held opponents to 41.2 percent field goal shooting on the season. As late as last month, the Aztecs were 17th nationally in field-goal percentage defense. 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 69.6 this year. Holcomb, a transfer from L.A. City College, leads the team with a 16.0 scoring average and 6.9 rebounds per contest. On Dec. 18, Holcomb became the first Aztec player to earn Mountain West Conference Player of the Week honors and three weeks later he earned the award for the second time this season. Epps, a two-year starter, has scored in double-figures in 17 of his last 24 games and has shot 50 percent or better from the field in 16-of-21 contests this season. The Tulare, Calif., native is averaging 12.2 ppg and 4.8 rpg, while connecting on 57.3 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 6.9 points and 5.0 assists while Kovacic, a transfer from Modesto Junior College, has hit on 35-of-91 three-point attempts for 38.5 percent. He is averaging 6.4 points per contest. Senior center Marcelo Correa has connected on 40 of his 68 field-goal attempts this season (58.8 percent), while averaging 5.6 points and 4.0 rebounds. He has a team-high 22 blocked shots. Off the bench, the Aztecs bring experience and scoring punch to the backcourt in juniors David Abramowitz and Al Faux. Abramowitz, a two-year letterwinner, is averaging less than a turnover a game this season and has nearly a 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, while Shoreline Junior College transfer Al Faux is third on the team in scoring at 10.7 ppg, despite average playing time of only 24.9 minutes. Faux set a school-record for three-point field goal percentage by connecting on 7-of-8 attempts from bonus distance en route to a career-high 28 points against Oklahoma State. Freshmen Chris Walton and Aerick Sanders have provided valuable assistance in the post positions off the bench. Sanders, a native of Carson, Calif., was averaging 3.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per contest, before being sideline with a foot injury. The freshman already has recorded 15 blocked shots this season. Walton, a San Diego product, has chipped in 2.8 points and 2.1 rebounds per contest.
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 an 11-10 start, the Feb. 12th edition of the ratings had San Diego State with a 72.20 rating for 153rd place. San Diego State is one of just 14 schools that is currently 100 spots higher than its preseason ranking, and has made the 11h biggest jump among all Division I schools in the rankings. Following is a look at the biggest jumps from the preseason Sagarin rating as compared to ratings released on Feb 12. Rk. Team Preseason As of 2/12 +/- 1. Holy Cross 291 113 +178 2. UC Irvine 228 74 +154 3. Georgia State 198 49 +149 4. McNeese State 273 129 +144 5. Arkansas-LR 257 119 +138 6. Boston College 137 10 +127 7. Central Michigan 217 93 +124 8. Southern Utah 214 97 +117 9. Monmouth 271 159 +112 10. Cal State Northridge 205 94 +111 11. San Diego State 262 153 +109
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 14 games between repeat opponents, San Diego State has shown 122 points of improvement or 8.7 points per game. On four occasions, the Aztecs have posted revenge victories, avenging losses to New Mexico State, Arizona State, Oklahoma State and Air Force. Below is a look at opponents that San Diego State has played in each of Fisher's two seasons with the Aztecs. For conference games, results and scores are compared by site. 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 W, 87-66 +55 Loyola Marymount W, 70-63 W, 61-58 -4 vs. New Mexico L, 57-78 L, 67-75 +13 at Brigham Young L, 50-67 L, 50-79 -12 at Utah L, 65-83 L, 39-58 -1 Air Force 3ot-L, 77-81 W, 67-43 +28 at UNLV L, 55-83 ot-L, 72-82 +18 at Wyoming L, 87-93 L, 66-101 -29 at Colorado State L, 67-75 L, 56-77 -13 Utah L, 55-70 L, 63-76 +2
Comparing the Numbers Through 21 games, the improvement in San Diego State from last season and this season is apparent. To date, the Aztecs are holding opponents to 41.2 percent field goal percentage. Below is a look at how other numbers stack up against last season. 1999-2000 2000-2001 Record 5-23 11-10 PPG 62.3 69.6 Opp. PPG 74.9 67.7 Scoring Margin -12.6 +1.9 FG Percentage 40.9 44.8 3FG Percentage 29.9 34.2 Free Throw Percentage 68.0 64.5 Opponent FG Percentage 45.6 41.2 Rebound Margin -6.3 -2.2 Turnover Margin -1.6 +0.2
If You Win, They Will Come The San Diego community continues to respond to the Aztecs' improved play. Through 13 regular-season home games this season, San Diego State is averaging 4,421 fans, for an increase of 68.9 percent. Last season, the Aztecs averaged 2,618 fans for 15 home games. Equally impressive is the increase in attendance in non-conference games. Last season, the Aztecs averaged 2,133 fans per non-conference game. This season, with the non-conference season complete, the Aztecs averaged 3,838 fans for an increase of 79.9 percent. 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. In fact three of the four and five of the largest nine crowds in the history of Cox Arena have occurred this season. San Diego State has played in front of seven 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 10 of 13 games at Cox Arena.
Best MWC Non-Conference Win Recorded By San Diego State According to the Jan. 24 RPI, San Diego State has recorded the best non-conference victory and owns two of the top nine victories among Mountain West Conference schools. On Dec. 30, the Aztecs recorded a win over 33rd-ranked Oklahoma State and on Dec. 16, San Diego State disposed of 50th-ranked Arizona State. Below is a look at the best non-conference victories by Mountain West Conference teams this season. Best MWC Non-Conference Victories 1. SDSU def. No. 33 Oklahoma State (12/30) 2. Wyoming def. No. 39 Creighton (12/1) 3. BYU def. No. 50 Utah State (12/16) 4. Utah def. No. 77 Memphis (11/25) 5. UNLV def. No. 84 Pepperdine (12/22) Utah def. No. 84 Pepperdine (12/19) 7. New Mexico def. No. 85 W. Kentucky (12/2) 8. BYU def. No. 89 South Alabama (12/22) 9. SDSU def. No. 50 Arizona State (12/16)
Holcomb Earns Second Mountain West Player of the Week Honor Junior forward Randy Holcomb was named Mountain West Conference Player of the Week for the period ending Jan. 7. It was the second time he won the award this season. A native of Chicago, Holcomb led the Aztecs with 19 points and seven rebounds in the 61-58 victory at Loyola Marymount on Jan. 6. It is the second time Holcomb has received the honor this season with the first coming the week of Dec. 17. At that time 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. Holcomb leads San Diego State in scoring with 16.0 ppg and has recorded double-figure scoring games in 20 of the 21 Aztecs games this season. Holcomb has recorded four double-doubles this season.
Double-Digit Streaks Randy Holcomb, had his double-figures scoring streak snapped at 18 consecutive games, when he tallied eight points in the game at Wyoming on Feb. 3. Holcomb recorded just the fifth streak of 18 or more consecutive double-figure scoring games in the last 20 years, and owns the longest streak to start an Aztec career. 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. *-Randy Holcomb, 00-01 18 Jason Richey, 97-98 18 Michael Cage, 1983-84 18 6. Anthony Watson, 84-85 17 7. *-Jason Richey, 96-97 15 Shawn Jamison, 89-90 15 Marty Dow, 90-91 14 10. Carlus Groves, 93-94 12 Shawn Jamison, 89-90 12 Michael Best, 88-89 12 12. Berry Randle, 94-95 11 13. Roy Kruiswyk, 97-98 10 Kevin Betts, 97-98 10 * -?Indicates streak started in first career Aztec game.
Six-Game Winning Streak Was the Longest in 17 Years The Aztecs' six-game win streak earlier this season was the longest in 17 years and approached the school's Division I record of eight games set during the 1984-85 season. The streak was the fifth longest in school history. Below is a look at the longest winning streaks during the Division I era. Longest Winning Streaks (Since 1968-69) 1. 1984-85 8 games 2. 1982-83 7 games 1977-78 7 games 1971-72 7 games 5. 2000-01 6 games 1981-82 6 games 7. 1996-97 5 games 1989-90 5 games 1984-85 5 games 1981-82 5 games 1975-76 5 games 1974-75 5 games
The Roaring 20s When three Aztec players scored 20 points against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, it became the first time time an Aztec team had three players score 20 or more points since at least the 1981-82 season. At no time during the past 20 years did three Aztec players score 20 or more points in a single game.
Wired For Cox San Diego State has posted a 14-4 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 10-3 in Cox Arena, with the lone non-conference setback being a three-point loss to San Diego.
Most Wins Before the New Year The Aztecs posted eight victories during the month of December, tying the school record for most wins prior to January 1st. The Aztecs recorded eight victories prior to the year change in 1996-97, 1989-90, 1984-85, 1981-82 and 1971-72. 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. 2000-01 8-3 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 8. 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
The Most Dominating Five Games of the Division I Era In a Division I history that spans 33 seasons and 903 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.
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 45.0 percent from the field, including 34.4 percent from three-point range. Individually, senior center Marcelo Correa has hit on 37-of-60 field goal attempts, for 61.7 percent. In addition to connecting on his first nine field goal attempts of the season, he is 37-for-49 from the free throw line for 75.5 percent. Junior guard Al Faux has given the Aztec backcourt a spark. In addition to dishing out 56 assists, Faux is averaging 10.7 points per game, including 29-of-71 (40.8 percent) from three-point range. Junior forward Myron Epps is shooting 58.1 percent from the field (93-of-160) while averaging 12.4 points per contest.
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.