Feb. 28, 2001
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Game 26 WYOMING COWBOYS (18-7/9-3 MWC) at SAN DIEGO STATE AZTECS (13-12/3-9 MWC)
DATE: Thursday, March 1, 2001 TIME: 7:05 p.m. PST (announced)/7:04 p.m. PST (tip) SITE: Cox Arena at Aztec Bowl (12,414) in San Diego TELEVISION: None. RADIO: KPOP-AM 1360 (San Diego) and via the SDSU internet home page. Jim Stone (play-by-play), Red Hill (producer). OFFICIAL WEBSITE: www.goaztecs.com THE SERIES: Wyoming leads 27-18.
Aztec Headlines
The Sagarin Ratings show San Diego State as the fifth most improved team in the country, jumping from a preseason rating of 262 to 137 as of Feb. 27. (page 5)
The 13 victories this season equal the total number of wins San Diego State had in the 63 games prior to this season. (page 2)
Through 15 regular-season home games this season, San Diego State is averaging 4,573 fans, for an increase of 74.7 percent. Last season, the Aztecs averaged 2,618 fans for 15 home games. (page 2)
Myron Epps is four points away from becoming the 18th player in SDSU history with 1,000 career points. (page 6)
NOTE OF THE WEEK: With victories last week at Air Force and vs. UNLV, the Aztecs have recorded consecutive league victories for the first time since Feb. 4th and 7th of 1998 when San Diego State defeated Hawaii (76-67) and Air Force (66-55).
Aztecs Look to Finish Remarkable Season Above .500, Play Host Mountain West Conference Co-Leader Wyoming on Thursday San Diego State, winners of consecutive conference games for the first time in more than three years and attempting to finish .500 or better for only the second time since the 1984-85 campaign, carries a 13-12 record into Thursday night's tilt against Mountain West Conference co-leader Wyoming. Game time is set for 7:35 p.m. and the contest will be broadcast by KPOP-AM 1360 (San Diego) and on the internet at goaztecs.com. On Saturday, the Aztecs snapped a 10-game losing to streak to UNLV, with an 83-66 victory over the Rebels. The 83 points were the most by an Aztec team in a Mountain West Conference home game and were the most in a MWC victory. It was the 13th victory of the season for the Aztecs, which are four more than the Aztecs recorded when they went 9-45 the last two seasons combined, and it equals the total number of victories for San Diego State in the 65 games prior to this season. Wyoming moved into a share for the conference lead with an 81-61 victory over New Mexico on Monday night. The Cowboys are tied with Utah for the conference lead, one-game ahead of Brigham Young. This is the second game of a three-game homestand to end the season. The Aztecs, 11-4 this season at Cox Arena, play host to Colorado State on Saturday night to end the regular season. Game time on Saturday is 8:30 p.m. due to the CIF Championships at Cox Arena earlier in the day.
Balanced Attack Leads San Diego State to 17-Point Victory over UNLV Eight San Diego State players scored eight or more points, including four in double figures, as the Aztecs cruised to an 83-66 victory over UNLV at Cox Arena on Monday. The Aztecs led the final 37 minutes of the game and the final 17 minutes by double figures in claiming their first series victory in their last 11 tries. San Diego State tied a school-record with 13 three-point field goals in 25 attempts and used a 43-36 rebound advantage in winning consecutive conference tilts for the first time in three years. Las Vegas native Jim Roban scored a career-high 11 points for the Aztecs. Junior forward Randy Holcomb and junior guard Karlo Kovacic each tallied a team-high 12 points. Junior guards Deandre Moore and Al Faux contributed 11 points apiece.
Wrapping Up the UNLV Game San Diego State improved to 13-12 overall. The Aztecs, which are trying to post their second winning season since the 1984-85 campaign, have now won as many games this season as they have in the 65 games prior to this season. The Aztecs snap a 10-game losing streak to UNLV. Prior to Monday the last time San Diego State defeated the Rebels was Feb. 6, 1982 when the Aztecs recorded an 81-68 victory in San Diego. With the victory at Air Force on Feb. 19, the Aztecs have recorded consecutive league victories for the first time since Feb. 4th and 7th of 1998 when San Diego State defeated Hawaii (76-67) and Air Force (66-55). With three league wins this season, the Aztecs have matched their conference win total of the 34 league games prior to this season. The Aztecs have won 11 games at home (11-4), marking their most home wins in a single-season since the 1995-96 squad was 11-4 at home. The last time an Aztec team won more home games was the 1984-85 WAC Champion and NCAA Tournament team that won 12. The 11 home wins this season equal the home victory total in the 33 home games prior to this year. The San Diego community continues to respond to the Aztecs on-court success. Through 15 regular season games, the Aztecs have drawn 68,599 for an average of 4,573, an increase of 74.7 percent over last season. The crowd of 6,089 marks the ninth time this season San Diego State has played at home in front of at least 4,000 fans. All of last season, San Diego State drew just one crowd of more than 4,000 fans. The crowd is the sixth largest in Cox Arena history. Four of the six largest crowds at Cox Arena have occurred this season. RANDY HOLCOMB scored in double figures for the 24th time in 25 games this season. JIM ROBAN scored a career-high 11 points on the strength of three, three-point field goals. He has tied a career-high by playing in three consecutive games and is now 13-for-21 (61.9 percent). DEANDRE MOORE recorded his eighth double-figure scoring game of the season and the ninth of his career. In addition to 11 points.
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 13-12 this season. The 13 victories this season equal the total number of wins San Diego State had in the 65 games prior to this season. The 13 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 14 of the last 15 years. The Aztecs have already broken four significant losing streaks. In addition to snapping a 24-game conference road losing streak with a win over Air Force on Monday, 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 on Feb. 19. 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. At 13-12, 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 74.7 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 nine times after drawing only one crowd of more than 4,000 last season.
Would've, Could've, Should've In addition to claiming two conference victories, San Diego State has been in an excellent position to win three other conference games. vs. New Mexico, Jan. 8 -?San Diego State builds a 22-11 lead with eight minutes to go in the first half. The Aztecs still lead 49-48 with less than 11 minutes to play before losing 75-67. at UNLV, Jan. 27 -?The Aztecs lead by 13 points at the half before falling in overtime 82-72. San Diego State led 32:15 of the 40 minutes of regulation. vs. Brigham Young, Feb. 12 -?San Diego State led by seven points at the half, and had the ball with a 63-62 lead with less than two minutes to play. Brigham Young won the game 69-66, despite 51.1 percent field goal shooting by the Aztecs.
Closer than the Score Might Indicate Prior to the last two victories, San Diego State was starting to show signs of breaking out of the slump, playing teams closer than the Aztecs had in recent history. In each of the three games prior to the contest with the Falcons, the Aztecs played opponents closer than they had in numerous years. In Utah's 13-point victory on Feb. 10 (76-63), 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 previous six victories in the series all were by at least 14 points, with an average margin of 23.3 points. In Brigham Young's three-point victory on Feb. 17 (69-63), the seventh straight in the series, was the smallest margin of victory for the Cougars since the Aztecs defeated the Cougars 89-86 in overtime on Dec. 31, 1996. Brigham Young's previous four victories in the series resulted in an average margin of victory of 21.3 points. In New Mexico's 72-54 victory at The Pit was the Lobos 10th straight win in the series. The 18-point margin of victory for New Mexico was 11 points fewer than the previous season and is the closest the Aztecs have been to New Mexico on the road since the 1995-96 season when San Diego State lost 77-74.
MASH Update San Diego State continues to be plagued by health problems, with three players missing recent game due to injuries. Starting point guard Deandre Moore missed the games against Brigham Young and New Mexico due to pain caused by a slight separation in his left shoulder. Moore originally injured his shoulder in the opening minutes of the game against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Jan. 4. Although he has missed significant practice time since the injury, the New Mexico game marked just the third contest he has missed due to the injury. He is probable for Thursday's game vs. Wyoming. Senior Jim Roban missed five consecutive games prior to playing in each of the last three contests, due to discomfort in his back. Roban, who had off-season back surgery, has played in just nine games this season. He has never played in four straight games. On Jan. 16, the Aztecs learned they would be without freshman Aerick Sanders for the remainder of the season due to a stress reaction in his right foot. Sanders, who had played through pain for three weeks, played in all of the first 16 games this season, averaging 3.8 points and 3.8 rebounds.
Know Thy Enemy: About Wyoming Location: Laramie, Wyo. Founded: 1886 Enrollment: 10,600 President: Dr. Philip L. Dubols Athletic Director: Lee Moon Nickname: Cowboys, Pokes Colors: Brown and Wyoming Prairie Gold Arena (Capacity): Arena-Auditorium (15,028) Conference: Mountain West
Noting the Cowboys Wyoming moved into a share for the Mountain West Conference lead following an 81-61 victory over New Mexico in Laramie, Wyo., Monday night. The Cowboys improved to 18-7 overall and 9-3 in league action. Josh Davis led the way with 20 points and eight rebounds while Chris McMillian added 18 points. Brett McFall scored 12 points and added five assists while Uche Nsonwu-Amadi added 11 points and eight rebounds in the contest. For the season, Marcus Bailey leads Wyoming with a 17.1 scoring average. Davis is averaging nearly a double-double with 13.2 points and 9.2 rebounds, while Nsonwu-Amadi checks in at 11.6 points and 8.6 rebounds. Like the other two teams competing for the conference championship, Wyoming ends the season with consecutive road games. Following the contest against San Diego State, Wyoming travels to Las Vegas for a Saturday night game against the Rebels.
SDSU-UNLV Series History Thursday marks the 46th meeting between San Diego State and Wyoming, with the Cowboys owning a 27-18 series advantage. The Cowboys have won three straight contests, however, the Aztecs have won five of the last six games played in San Diego. On Feb. 3 in Laramie, Wyo., six Cowboys scored in double figures as Wyoming claimed a 101-66 victory over the Aztecs. The game was tied at 29 with 5:27 to play in the first half, before the Cowboys ended the half on a 14-0 run to take a 43-29 lead at intermission. Wyoming opened the second half where it had left off, going on a 12-4 spurt to open a 22 point advantage. Uche Nsonwu-Amadi recorded a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds while Marcus Bailey pored in a game-high 18 points. Myron Epps paced San Diego State with 16 points. Randy Holcomb scored only eight points, it snapped a school-record streak of 18 consecutive double-digit scoring games to open a career and is the only time the junior forward has failed to score in double figures this season. Wyoming used a huge advantage on the glass, 53-26, and shot 54.5 percent from the field in the contest. The Cowboys shot 19-of-27 (70.4 percent) from the floor in the second half
Cliff Notes: The Aztecs Under second-year coach Steve Fisher, the Aztecs continue to show remarkable progress from last season. At 13-12, the Aztecs have four 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 five line-ups thus far, with eight players seeing action in at least 22 of 25 games this season. One area in which the Aztecs have been particularly solid is on defense. San Diego State has held opponents to 67.0 points per contest. More impressive has been a defensive effort that has held opponents to 41.5 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 69.1 this year. Holcomb, a transfer from L.A. City College, leads the team with a 15.8 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 28 games and has shot 50 percent or better from the field in 18-of-27 contests this season. The Tulare, Calif., native is averaging 11.4 ppg and 4.7 rpg, while connecting on 55.3 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 7.2 points and 5.0 assists while while Shoreline Junior College transfer Al Faux is third on the team in scoring at 10.4 ppg, despite average playing time of only 25.7 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. Senior center Marcelo Correa has connected on 51 of his 86 field-goal attempts this season (59.3 percent), while averaging 6.2 points and 4.1 rebounds. He has a team-high 28 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 more than a 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Kovacic, a transfer from Modesto Junior College, has hit on 38-of-100 three-point attempts for 38.0 percent. He is averaging 5.9 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., 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 2.9 points and 2.3 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 teams 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 12-12 start, the Feb. 27th edition of the ratings had San Diego State with a 73.36 rating for 137th place. San Diego State is one of just 10 schools that is currently 100 spots higher than its preseason ranking, and has made the fifth 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 27. Rk. Team Preseason As of 2/27 +/- 1. Holy Cross 291 119 +172 2. McNeese State 273 120 +153 3. UC Irvine 228 81 +147 4. Georgia State 198 67 +131 5. San Diego State 262 137 +125 6. Boston College 137 13 +124 7. Ark.-Little Rock 257 136 +121 8. Cal State Northridge 205 90 +115 9. Central Michigan 217 107 +110 10. Hampton 248 141 +107
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 17 games between repeat opponents, San Diego State has shown 201 points of improvement or 11.8 points per game. On six occasions, the Aztecs have posted revenge victories, avenging losses to New Mexico State, Arizona State, Oklahoma State, Air Force (twice) and UNLV. 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 vs. 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 vs. Utah L, 55-70 L, 63-76 +2 vs. Brigham Young L, 50-72 L, 66-69 +19 at Air Force L, 55-63 W, 62-48 +22 vs. UNLV L, 64-85 W, 83-66 +38
Comparing the Numbers Through 25 games, the improvement in San Diego State from last season and this season is apparent. To date, the Aztecs are holding opponents to 41.5 percent field goal percentage. Below is a look at how other numbers stack up against last season. 1999-2000 2000-2001 Record 5-23 13-12 PPG 62.3 69.1 Opp. PPG 74.9 67.0 Scoring Margin -12.6 +2.1 FG Percentage 40.9 44.7 3FG Percentage 29.9 35.3 Free Throw Percentage 68.0 65.5 Opponent FG Percentage 45.6 41.5 Rebound Margin -6.3 -1.0 Turnover Margin -1.6 -0.4
If You Win, They Will Come The San Diego community continues to respond to the Aztecs' improved play. Through 15 regular-season home games this season, San Diego State is averaging 4,573 fans, for an increase of 74.7 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 four of the six and six of the largest 10 crowds in the history of Cox Arena have occurred this season. San Diego State has played in front of nine 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 11 of 15 games at Cox Arena. Largest Crowds in Cox Arena History 1. Fresno State (1/31/98) 11,334 2. San Diego (12/9/00) 8,186 3. Utah (2/10/01) 7,164 4. New Mexico (1/8/01) 6,739 5. Utah (1/16/99) 6,164 6. UNLV (2/24/01) 6,089 7. Brigham Young (11/14/97) 5,932 8. Rice (2/21/98) 5,683 9. Oklahoma State (12/30/00) 5,582 10. Air Force (1/20/01) 5,195
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 15.8 ppg and has recorded double-figure scoring games in 24 of the 25 Aztecs games this season. Holcomb has recorded five 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.
Epps Closing in On 1,000-Point Milestone San Diego State junior forward Myron Epps continues to move closer to joining the 1,000-point club. Epps is currently at 996 career points, just four away from becoming the 18th San Diego State player to record 1,000 career points and the first since Chad Nelson joined the club in 1997. This season, Epps has scored 286 points and is averaging 11.4 points per contest.
Cleaning-Up from the Free Throw Line One area in which San Diego State struggled early on was at the free throw line. Through the first 15 games of the season, the Aztecs were 207-of-336 from the free throw line for 61.6 percent. In the last 10 games, San Diego State has increased its free throw percentage by more than 10 percent, connecting on 167-of-235 attempts for 71.1 percent. For the season, the Aztecs are hitting 65.5 percent from the charity stripe.
Aztecs Looking to Add to Home Victory Total San Diego State, will try and improve on a 11-4 record at Cox Arena when the Aztecs play host to Wyoming on Thursday night. Following is a look at San Diego State's stats in Cox Arena compared to the team's numbers away from home. Home Away Record 11-4 2-7 Points Per Game 75.2 58.6 Opponent PPG 63.4 71.4 Scoring Margin +11.8 -12.8 Field Goal Pct. 49.0 37.9 Opp. Field Goal Pct. 39.4 44.4 3-Pt. FG Per game 6.5 5.0 3-Pt. FG Pct. 40.0 27.8 Opp. 3-Pt. FG Pct. 28.3 36.3 FT Percentage 65.7 64.5 Rebound Margin +1.7 -5.7 Turnover Per Game 15.5 15.3 Assists Per Game 17.5 12.2 Steals Per Game 7.2 5.8
Shooting the Key To Aztecs Fate No statistic is more telling of San Diego State's fate then shooting percentage. When the Aztecs shoot better than their opponents they are 12-3 this season. When opponents shoot better than San Diego State, the Aztecs are 1-9. Following is a comparison of San Diego State's stats in the 13 wins versus the 12 losses. Wins Losses Record 13 12 Points Per Game 77.2 60.3 Opponent PPG 60.2 74.5 Scoring Margin +17.0 -14.2 Field Goal Pct. 50.6 38.3 Opp. Field Goal Pct. 37.7 45.6 3-Pt. FG Per game 7.4 4.4 3-Pt. FG Pct. 41.4 27.9 Opp. 3-Pt. FG Pct. 26.9 36.0 FT Percentage 65.7 65.3 Rebound Margin +4.6 -6.9 Turnover Per Game 15.8 15.4 Assists Per Game 18.9 11.6 Steals Per Game 7.7 5.5
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 11-4 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).
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 44.7 percent from the field, including 35.3 percent from three-point range. Individually, senior center Marcelo Correa has hit on 51-of-86 field goal attempts, for 59.3 percent. In addition to connecting on his first nine field goal attempts of the season, he is 53-of-68 from the free throw line for 77.9 percent. Junior guard Al Faux has given the Aztec backcourt a spark. In addition to dishing out 65 assists, Faux is averaging 10.4 points per game, including 36-of-87 (41.4 percent) from three-point range. Junior forward Myron Epps is shooting 55.3 percent from the field (109-of-197) while averaging 11.4 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.