Jan. 12, 2002
San Diego State (10-4/0-0)
at BYU (10-3/0-0)
Saturday, January 12, 2002
4:00 p.m. MST/3:00 p.m. PST
Marriott Center (22,700)
Provo, Utah
Tip Time: 4:05 p.m. MST
Television: SportsWest will televise the game live including Ch. 4 San Diego. Tom Kirkland (play-by-play), Craig Hislop (analyst).
Radio: XTRA AM-690 in San Diego. Jim Stone (play-by-play) and Dave Marcus (producer).
The Records: San Diego State is 10-4 after claiming its third straight victory, an 82-79 decision at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Tuesday night. Brigham Young is 10-3, following an 82-79 overtime loss at Pepperdine on Saturday night.
SDSU Coach Steve Fisher: Fisher (Illinois State '67) is in his third season at San Diego State with a record of 29-41. Now in his 11th full season he has amassed a 213-123 mark. Fisher led Michigan to the 1989 national championship and made three trips to the national championship game in his eight full seasons in Ann Arbor. The 1991-92 national coach of the year led the Aztecs to a 14-14 mark last year.
BYU Coach Steve Cleveland: Cleveland (UC Irvine '76) is in his fifth season both at Brigham Young and overall. He has guided the Cougars to a 77-60 mark, including a 2001 Mountain West Conference Championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
The Series: This will mark the 48th meeting between the teams with Brigham Young owning a 34-13 advantage. In Provo, Brigham Young has won 20 of 22 all-time versus SDSU, with Aztec victories coming on Jan. 31, 1985 and Dec. 31, 1996. Overall, BYU has won seven straight in the series which dates back to 1940.
Officials: Announced by BYU on game day.
Having Won Six of Seven Games, Aztecs Open MWC Play with Trip to the Beehive State
San Diego State (10-4), winners of three straight and six of its last seven games, opens its third season of Mountain West Conference play at defending conference champion Brigham Young (10-3/0-0 MWC) on Saturday afternoon. The game is scheduled for a 4:05 p.m. MST tip (3:05 p.m. PST) and will be televised live by SportsWest (including Channel 4 San Diego) and will be broadcast in southern California on XTRA AM-690 (San Diego).
The Aztecs won their third road/neutral game of the 2001-02 campaign with a dramatic 82-79 victory at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Tuesday night. In addition to snapping the Islanders four-game home winning streak, San Diego State improved to 3-4 this season in road/neutral games, surpassing its win total from the past three seasons combined, when the Aztecs went 2-33 away from home.
The Aztecs trailed by as many as seven points, and were down 39-38 at intermission. But San Diego State overcame a halftime deficit to win for the third time this season, thanks in large part to a 13-1 run to open the second half.
Senior forward Randy Holcomb recorded his eighth double-double of the season and the 14th of his career with a career-tying-best 30 points and 14 rebounds. The senior connected on 14-of-18 shots from the field and added three blocked shots. Senior guard Al Faux tallied 24 points on the strength of four three-point field goals while junior guard Tony Bland had 18 points, six assists and tied a career high with six rebounds.
Brigham Young has stormed out to a 10-3 mark. The Cougars have won 28 consecutive games at the Marriott Center, the fourth-longest active streak in the country. Brigham Young's last defeat in Provo came on Feb. 17, 2000.
The Cougars have won seven straight in the series and own a 34-13 series advantage. San Diego State is 2-20 lifetime at BYU, posting road victories over the Cougars on Jan. 31, 1985 and Dec. 31, 1996.
On the Line
* - San Diego State will carry a three-game winning streak into the Jan. 12th game at Brigham Young. This is the latest in the season the Aztecs have won at least three consecutive regular-season games since the 1988-89 campaign.
* - The Aztecs are currently riding their second, three-game winning streak of the season. This is the first time since the 1996-97 campaign that SDSU has had two three-game winning streaks in the same season.
* - For the seven seasons from 1993-94 to 1998-99, San Diego State had an average RPI of 190. Last season, the Aztecs jumped to 154 in the final RPI and this season, as of Thursday, San Diego State was 45 in the RPI.
* - Through Wednesday's games, San Diego State ranked 12th nationally in field goal percentage at 49.6 percent (Villanova leads the nation at 51.3 percent). The Aztecs have shot better than 50 percent from the floor in four of the last five games.
* - Entering the weekend, senior forward Randy Holcomb leads the Mountain West Conference in both scoring (18.1) and rebounding (9.9). A native of Chicago, Ill., Holcomb entered the week ranked 10th nationally in double-doubles and picked up his eighth double-double of the campaign at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Tuesday.