Nov. 18, 2006
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SAN DIEGO - Final Score: San Diego State 86, California 79
SDSU Record: 5-0
Attendance: 8,028
Next Game: Tuesday, Nov. 21; vs, UC Riverside; 7:05 p.m. PT (no live TV)
Still Streaking
• San Diego State extended a couple of winning streaks on Saturday, including a five-game overall winning streak (11-game regular-season winning streak; excludes NCAA tournament loss to Indiana); five-game home court winning streak; seven-game regular-season non-conference winning streak; six-game non-conference homecourt winning streak.
• San Diego State has put together one of the more remarkable streaks not only in school history, but one of the most impressive active runs in the country. The Aztecs have won five straight games, 11 of their last 12 (11-1) and 21 of their last 24 (21-3) games dating back to Jan. 11, 2006. The three losses in that span have been by a total of 16 points (two-point loss to Utah, 10-point loss at Brigham Young (Aztecs trailed by four points with 91 seconds to play) and a four-point loss to Indiana in the NCAA tournament (Aztecs led and had the ball with under one minute to play)).
• The Aztecs are 15-2 at home since the beginning of the 2005-06 season and have won 13 of their last 14 games at Cox Arena.
Fast Starts
• At 5-0, San Diego State has its best opening to a campaign since the 1984-85 squad opened the season 8-0. This is just the fourth time in 37 Division I seasons that the Aztecs have opened with five consecutive victories (1971-72, 1982-83, 1984-85 and 2006-07). The first two times SDSU opened 4-0 (1971-72 and 1984-85) San Diego State finished 18-10, while the 1984-85 squad finished 23-8.
Best Division I Era Starts, Opened, Final Record, Note
1984-85, 8-0, 23-8, NCAA tournament; 23 wins are second most in DI era
1982-83, 7-0, 18-10, Michael Cage's junior year; 4 of first 5 games at home
1971-72, 7-0, 18-10, Went 11-2 at home; Opened with four straight on road
2006-07, 5-0
• The best sign for Aztec fans is what Steve Fisher's teams have accomplished after jumping out to a 5-0 start. Now in his 16th full season, Fisher has guided three teams (including this season's Aztec squad) to a 5-0 start and as you might suspect, his clubs have gone on to accomplish some pretty good things. In fact, the other three Fisher squads that have started with at least four straight wins have all advanced to postseason play, advancing to the national championship game in 1992, the NCAA regional final in 1994 and winning the postseason NIT in 1997, en route to posting a cumulative 73-28 record (72.3 percent). Below is a look at Fisher's quick starts. Not included in the list since it did not start a season is his magical run in 1989 when he took the reigns of the Michigan program just prior to the NCAA tournament and guided the Wolverines to their only basketball national championship (going 6-0).
>Best Steve Fisher Starts, Opened, Final Record, Note
1996-97, 7-0, 24-11, NIT champions; Beat Duke and Arizona in reg. season
2006-07, 5-0
1993-94, 5-0, 24-8, NCAA reg. finalist; Juwan Howard & Jalen Rose team
1991-92, 4-0, 25-9 NCAA runner-up (lost to Duke); Fab Five fresh. season
Ghost Busters
• Today's victory over California snapped a seven-game losing streak to Pac-10 schools dating back to a 64-62 victory over Arizona State on Dec. 16, 2000.
• San Diego State also snapped a 12-game losing streak to automatic qualifying BCS conferences, dating back to an 83-61 victory vs. Ohio State at the EA Sports Maui Invitational on Nov. 24, 2003.
The 8,000 Club
• Today's attendance was 8,028, marking the 22nd time the crowd has eclipsed 8,000 in Cox Arena history for an SDSU game. The mark is the highest for a non-conference game since Dec. 11, 2004 against Cal (8,978).
Nothing But Net
• The Aztecs shot 60.7 (34-for-56) from the field tonight, marking the third consecutive game they shot over 50 percent. SDSU has shot above 50 percent in four of its five games this season and above 60 percent in its last two games.
The Three Musketeers
• The trio of Jerome Habel (23 points), Mohamed Abukar (22 points) and Brandon Heath (19 points) combined to score 74.4 percent (64-of-86) of the team's points in the game.
Player Notes
• Mohamed Abukar - Abukar's 22 points tonight marks the third time he has reached the 20-point plateau this season and ties his season-high.
• Brandon Heath - With 19 points, Heath stretched his consecutive double-figure scoring streak to 30 games. The 30 game consecutive double-figure scoring streak is the third-longest in school history, trailing only Zack Zones (32, 1980-81) and Anthony Watson (31, 1985-86) ... Heath went 3-for-7 from behind the three-point arc. Heath has now made at least two three-pointers in 14 of his last 15 games, dating back to last season ... Heath also added a season-high seven assists.
• Jerome Habel - Habel made his first appearance as an Aztec and scored 23 points on 10-for-11 shooting to lead all scorers. He also added seven rebounds in 30 minutes of action.