Jan. 3, 2005
SAN DIEGO -
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Having faced the nation's 56th most difficult schedule (as of Jan. 1 RPI), San Diego State(5-7) concludes the non-conference portion of its schedule with its first meeting with South Dakota State.
Game time is set for 7:05 p.m. and the contest will be broadcast by Channel 4 San Diego (no satellite coverage available) and can be heard on XPRS (The Mighty 1090).
Since the 1999-00 season, the final regular season non-conference game has been an indicator of how the season would turn out. The Aztecs are 3-2 in those games, with the Aztecs finishing .500 or better in all three seasons in which they have won their final non-conference test. In seasons in which they lost that game, SDSU has failed to reach the .500 mark.
The Aztecs are looking to break a two-game losing streak, in which they led in the second half of both games. On Friday, San Diego State led by as many as seven points, and enjoyed a lead for nearly 22 minutes of the game, before falling to Providence 76-67. The Friars used a 10-2 run over a three-minute stretch of the second half to turn a four-point deficit into a four-point advantage and never looked back.
San Diego State lost the game despite owning a rebound advantage (38-36), committing fewer turnovers (12-15), and attempting more free throws (27-21). The reason for the loss, field goal percentage. Providence shot 50.9 percent from the field, the highest by an Aztec opponent this season, while SDSU shot a season-low 34.9 percent from the floor.
Sophomore guard Brandon Heath enjoyed his second consecutive 20-point scoring game, matching his season-high with a game-high 26 points and adding seven rebounds. Sophomore forward Marcus Slaughter narrowly missed his third straight double-double with 18 points and nine rebounds. Junior center Mohamed Camara tied a career-high with seven points and shattered his previous best for rebounds by pulling down a game-high 13.
The Aztecs are still struggling from the field. After shooting above 53 percent from the field in three straight games during a four-game winning streak earlier this season, San Diego State has failed to shoot 42 percent from the floor in its last seven games, connecting on 153-of-407 (37.6 percent) during that span.
The 42 percent shooting figure from the floor has been an important one this season. The Aztecs are 4-0 when shooting at least 42 percent, are 1-1 when shooting 40 to 42 percent, and 0-6 when shooting less than 40 percent from the field.
Every San Diego State game this season and 14 straight dating back to last season has been won by the team with the higher field goal percentage.
South Dakota State is in the first year of moving from Division II to Division I for all of its athletic programs. The school, currently classified as a provisional Division I member, will reach Division I status in 2008-09, although it will begin having an RPI next season. The Jacks have been one of the premiere Division II programs, where they posted a 118-36 record since the 2000-01 season.
This is the first meeting between the only NCAA schools that use SDSU as their monogram. Following the game, the Aztecs begin preparation for their Mountain West Conference opener at Brigham Young on Saturday.