Feb. 17, 2003
Complete Game Notes at Brigham Young (Mon., Feb. 17, 2003 in PDF Format
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San Diego State (12-9/3-5) at BYU (17-6/6-2)
Monday, February 17, 2003
9:00 p.m. MST (announced)
Marriott Center (22,700)
Provo, Utah
Tip Time: Tip time is set for 9:00 p.m. MST.
Television: The game will be produced by Sportswest and televised locally by Channel 4 San Diego. Dave McCann (play-by-play), Craig Hislop (analysis), Mikel Minor (producer).
Radio: XTRA 690-AM. Jim Stone (play-by-play), Dave Marcus (producer).
SDSU Coach Steve Fisher: Fisher (Illinois State '67) is in his fourth season at San Diego State with a record of 52-58. Now in his 12th full season as a head coach, he has amassed a 236-140 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, he led the Aztecs to a 21-12 mark last year en route to the NCAA Tournament. Fisher has helped the Aztecs increase their win total in each of his first three seasons (from 4-to-5-to-14-to-21).
BYU Coach Steve Cleveland: In his 13th season overall and sixth year heading the Cougars program, Cleveland (UC Irvine '76) holds a career head-coaching record of 259-152, including a 102-75 mark at BYU. Cleveland and the Cougars are looking for their fourth straight postseason selection and second NCAA Tournament in three years.
The Series: San Diego State and Brigham Young will meet for the 52nd time, with the Cougars owning a 36-15 advantage and a 21-2 record in Provo. The Cougars won this season's earlier meeting, 80-69 in San Diego, to stop two straight Aztec wins in the series. BYU has won nine of the last 11 games with SDSU.
The Tickets: Tickets are available for the game through the BYU ticket office (800-322-BYU1) and online at (www.byutickets.com).
Aztecs Conclude Beehive State Trip with Monday Game at Brigham Young
San Diego State (12-9 overall/3-5 Mountain West Conference) concludes a two-game road tip with a contest at Brigham Young (12-9/3-5) on Monday night in Provo, Utah.
Game time is set for 9 p.m. MST (8 p.m. PST) and SportsWest, including Channel 4 San Diego, will televise the game. The contest can be heard along the West Coast on XTRA-AM 690 (San Diego). Please note the time has recently changed and is listed incorrectly as 8:30 p.m. MST on many schedules.
The Aztecs, who have posted an impressive 4-3 road record this season and have won seven of their last 11 road games, will have their work cut out for them on this trip. Utah (last Saturday's opponent) and Brigham Young are a combined 36-10 this season, including 13-3 in the MWC and 22-1 at home (the one home loss was Utah winning at Brigham Young).
On Saturday night in Salt Lake City, the Aztecs dropped the first game of the road swing, with a 76-62 loss at Utah. San Diego State built a five-point first half lead and trailed 31-28 at intermission. The Utes opened the second half with a 15-4 run, eventually increasing the lead to 19 points before settling for the 14-point win.
Tony Bland scored a team-high 16 points while Mike Mackell added 13 points and a team-best six rebounds. San Diego State outrebounded its eighth opponent in the last nine games, with a 39-33 edge on the boards. But the Aztecs shot just 38.1 percent while Utah connected on 50.0 percent of its field goal attempts.
Brigham Young had a four-game winning streak snapped on Friday night in a 61-54 loss at UNLV. The Cougars, who are 10-1 at home this season, have won 46 of their last 47 games at the Marriott Center.
Monday marks the 52nd time meeting between the teams with Brigham Young owning a 36-15 series lead. The Cougars snapped San Diego State's two-game series winning streak earlier this season with an 80-69 victory at Cox Arena on Jan. 20. Brigham Young has won 21 of the 23 meetings in Provo, with Aztec victories coming on Jan. 31, 1985 and Dec. 31, 1996. The Cougars have won the last four games in Provo by margins of 17, 17, 29 and 11 points.
Following the game the Aztecs return home for their final two regular season home games of the campaign. The Aztecs play host to Air Force on Saturday before entertaining New Mexico next Monday night in Senior Night at Cox Arena. San Diego State concludes the season with three consecutive road games.
Streaks, Storylines and Sidebars
* - The Aztecs Mountain West record of 3-5 represents the best MWC mark through eight games in school history. Previous MWC starts: 1999-00 - 0-8; 2000-01 - 1-6; and 2001-02 - 3-5.
* - The Aztecs completed the first half of Mountain West Conference play with a 3-4 record. Although below .500, it does represent the best start for San Diego State in the four-year history of the league. Previous first rotation records: 1999-00 - 0-7; 2000-01 - 1-6; and 2001-02 - 3-4. In each of the previous two seasons, the Aztecs posted a better record the next time around.
* - Since Steve Fisher and company snapped a 30-game road losing streak on Jan. 6, 2001, the Aztecs have made a habit of winning on the road. San Diego State is 4-3 on the road this season and has won seven of its last 11 road games dating back to last season. Throw in neutral site games and SDSU has won nine of the last 14 away from Cox Arena.
* - Since the beginning of the 2001-02 season, San Diego State has defeated five of the seven Mountain West Conference opponents on their home court. The only two teams to escape the Aztecs are Utah and Brigham Young.
* - The Aztecs aren't looking to buy property in the Beehive State any time soon. San Diego State is a combined 3-46 in road games at Utah and BYU following Saturday's loss in Salt Lake City. The Aztecs have made the Salt Lake City-Provo road swing 21 times in the last 24 seasons and have lost 41 of those 43 games. Only twice have the Aztecs so much as split the trip - defeating BYU in the first game of the 1984-85 swing and winning at Utah in the first game of the 1981-82 trip - and SDSU has never won both games. In fact, the Aztecs have never won the second game of the swing, going 0-21.
* - In case you are curious, the Aztecs two victories in Provo came on Jan. 31, 1985 and Dec. 31, 1996. The Cougars have won the last four games in Provo by margins of 17, 17, 29 and 11 points. The average margin of victory for Brigham Young in those four games is 18.5 points per game.
* - It is no secret that the free-throw line has been unkind to the Aztecs this season. San Diego State has been outscored 326-273 from the charity stripe this season, including a 133-80 margin in eight league games. That equates to 6.6 points per conference game. What makes matters worse is that SDSU's league opponents have connected on 76.4 percent of their free throw attempts. That percentage, compared to the 325 Division I schools, would rank 10th nationally.