Dec. 21, 2003
Complete Game Notes vs. Arizona (Mon., Dec. 22) in PDF Format
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Game No. 11
San Diego State (7-3) at No. 7/5 Arizona (5-1)
Saturday, Dec. 22, 2003
6:30 p.m. MST
McKale Center (14,545)
Tucson, Ariz.
Television
Fox Sports Net Arizona. Dave Sitton (play-by-play), Bob Elliott (analysis). The game will not be broadcast in the San Diego market. Satellite coordinates for the game are SBS 6, Tr. 9.
Radio
XPRS-1090 AM, San Diego (The Mighty 1090). John Fricke (play-by-play), Dave Marcus (producer).
Series
Monday will be the 22nd matchup between Arizona and San Diego State, with the Wildcats holding a 15-6 advantage in the series. The teams played last season with No. 1 ranked Arizona earning an 89-81 victory in front of Cox Arena's first sellout in San Diego on Dec. 7. SDSU is 1-11 in Tucson with its only win a 69-67 victory on Dec. 9, 1971.
Up Next
San Diego State returns to action with three consecutive home games after a holiday break beginning on Sat., Dec. 27 when they host Pac-10 foe, Washington at 7:05 PST. The Aztecs close out 2003 on new year's eve day with a 1:05 PST matchup against Portland and end the homestand with a Sat., Jan. 3 matchup against Iowa State.
Aztecs Look to Match Earliest Eighth Win in Last 32 Seasons and Try for Third Win in Five Days in Road Challenge at No. 7/5 Arizona
San Diego State (7-3), which has won seven of its first 10 games to open a season for the fourth consecutive year, plays its third game in five days at 7th/5th-ranked (AP/Coaches) Arizona on Monday night in Tucson, Ariz. Game time is set for 6:30 p.m. MST (5:30 p.m. PST) and the game will be televised by Fox Sports Net Arizona (no coverage in San Diego) and can be heard on XPRS-1090 AM (The Mighty 1090).
The Aztecs won for the fourth time in five outings by claiming a 79-66 victory over Eastern Washington on Saturday night at Cox Arena in San Diego. San Diego State led wire-to-wire, shooting a season-high 54.7 percent from the field.
The Aztecs improved to 5-0 in games decided by 13 points or more this season. San Diego State has a 30-point win vs. Long Beach State, a 25-point win vs. UCSD, a 22-point neutral-court win vs. Ohio State, a 19-point win vs. Cal Poly and now a 13-point win over Eastern Washington.
Senior forward Aerick Sanders continued his remarkable play by connecting on a school-record tying and Cox Arena record 11-of-11 from the field en route to a career-high and game-high 24 points. Junior guard Wesley Stokes added 18 points and a game-high five assists, while freshman guard Brandon Heath and junior center Chris Manker added 10 points apiece.
With the victory, Steve Fisher, now in his 13th full season as a head coach, improved to 70-11 in non-conference home games. The win against Eastern Washington kept the Eagles from claiming a second win in as many seasons over SDSU and kept Duke as the only non-league school to win on the road twice against a Fisher coached team.
With a productive week, San Diego State jumped to 91st in the RPI and 73rd in the Sagarin Ratings after entering the week 168th and 79th, respectively. The Aztecs were 109th in the preseason Sagarin Ratings.
Arizona (5-1) is once again off to an impressive start. The Wildcats have a one-point neutral-court loss to Florida (78-77) as the only blemish this season. Arizona already has victories over ranked opponents Texas and Marquette this season and the Wildcats are 17-1 at home since the beginning of the 2002-03 season and are 84-8 at the McKale Center since the beginning of the 1997-98 campaign.
For the third consecutive game, San Diego State's opponent has had more prep time entering the contest than the Aztecs. Like Cal Poly and Eastern Washington, Arizona will have had four days of preparation compared to just one day for San Diego State.
Monday marks the 22nd all-time meeting between the Wildcats and Aztecs with Arizona owning a 15-6 series lead. The Wildcats have won three straight games in the series and eight of the last nine games between the teams. San Diego State is just 1-11 against the 'Cats in Tucson, claiming a 69-67 victory on Dec. 9, 1971. In Arizona's 11 series victories in Tucson, the Wildcats have enjoyed an average margin of victory of 13.2 points. The last three games between the teams in Tucson, all Arizona victories, have been by a total of 11 points.
The game against the Wildcats marks the only road contest for the Aztecs in a 24-day span from Dec. 14 to Jan. 5. San Diego State plays five of six games at home between those dates.
The Aztecs will return to San Diego on the 23rd, take the 23rd and 24th off before practicing Christmas Day in preparation for a Dec. 27th game against Washington.