July 26, 2006
SAN DIEGO -
2006-07 SDSU Men's Basketball Non-Conference Schedule
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High profile home games against Arizona, California and San Diego, highlight San Diego State's non-conference basketball schedule, released by head coach Steve Fisher on Wednesday.
The defending Mountain West Conference champions will be challenged early. Of the first seven known opponents (the Aztecs do not know their opponent in two of the first three games of the season), six are against teams that won at least 15 games and posted an above .500 record last season.
"Taking into account how good the Mountain West Conference will be this season, this is probably the toughest schedule we have faced since I have been at San Diego State," Steve Fisher said. "The home schedule should be very appealing to our fans and very challenging for our team with games against Arizona, California and the annual contest against San Diego."
San Diego State returns four starters off a squad which won a school-record 24 games last season and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. The Aztecs claimed the MWC regular season title outright and a league tournament championship, joining Duke and UCLA as the only teams from top nine RPI conferences to accomplish that. Among the four returning starters are honorable mention Associated Press All-American and Mountain West Conference Player of the Year Brandon Heath and second-team all-MWC selection Mohamed Abukar.
San Diego State averaged 7,014 fans last season, including 9,907 over the final seven home games of the season.
"Our fans were fantastic last season, particularly down the stretch when we closed in on the conference championship," Fisher said. "We will need every bit of the home court advantage they provided us with last season as we try and become the first school to win consecutive outright conference titles in program history."
The Aztecs, which earlier this month were ranked 30th nationally by Dick Vitale on ESPN.com, will open the regular season away from home for the second consecutive season. San Diego State will play at Saint Mary's in a three-game exempt round-robin event Nov. 10-12. The other two teams have yet to be announced, but SDSU will face the Gales, a team that went 17-12 last season.
San Diego State will open the home portion of its schedule on Wed., Nov. 15, with a game against UC San Diego. The three-game homestand continues with contests against California on Sat., Nov. 18, and UC Riverside on Tue., Nov. 21. The Golden Bears advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season and finished with a 20-11 record. This is the third straight season the teams have played with California winning the last two seasons.
On Sat., Nov. 25, the Aztecs head north to face UC Santa Barbara. The Gauchos and Aztecs will play for the 88th time in school history, the second highest number of meetings for any SDSU opponent. San Diego State has won three of the last four meetings overall, but is just 1-2 in its last three visits to The Thunderdome.
The city rivalry continues on Wed., Nov. 29, when San Diego State plays host to San Diego. The Toreros snapped SDSU's three-game winning streak in the series last season.
The third annual San Diego SLAM is slated for Cox Arena on Sat., Dec. 9th. The Aztecs will face Arizona, a team ranked among the top 15 nationally in several national polls. The last time the Wildcats visited Cox Arena, they were the top-ranked team in the country and handed SDSU an 89-81 defeat in front of a Cox Arena sell out of 12,414. The other game in the basketball doubleheader has yet to be determined.
San Diego State has three other December home games. The Aztecs will face Atlantic Sun Conference member Campbell on Tue., Dec. 12, and West Coast Conference member Loyola Marymount on Sat., Dec. 16. It will mark the first meeting between the Aztecs and the Camels, while SDSU will face the Lions for the 58th time in school history.
On Thur., Dec. 21, the Aztecs will travel to Seattle to face Washington State. Technically a home game for the Cougars, the contest will be played at KeyArena, the home of the NBA's Seattle Sonics.
San Diego State will conclude the non-conference portion of the schedule on Sat., Dec 30 against Patriot League member Lafayette.
The Aztecs will add another non-conference game, likely a road game during the first week of December. That announcement will be made when details are finalized. San Diego State's Mountain West Conference schedule is expected to be released in August.
Season tickets are currently available in person at the SDSU Ticket Office at Qualcomm Stadium (gate E) and by phone at 619-283-SDSU.