Jan. 7, 2008
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State Game Notes | SDSU Broadcast Flip Card | Northern Colorado Game Notes
Northern Colorado (7-8/2-2 BSC) at San Diego State (11-3/1-0 MWC)
Television: None.
Radio: AM 600 KOGO - Ted Leitner (play-by-play).
Aztecs Look to Match Best 15-Game Record in the Last 41 Seasons; Face Northern Colorado on Wednesday at Cox  
San Diego State (11-3 overall; 1-0 MWC) faces its final regular-season non-conference opponent of the season on Wednesday night when the Aztecs play host to Big Sky Conference foe Northern Colorado (7-8, 2-2 BSC).
Game time is set for 7 p.m. PT at Cox Arena. There is no live television coverage of the game, but the contest can be heard on the Aztec radio flagship station AM 600 KOGO.
There is plenty on the line for the non-conference tilt, as with a victory, SDSU can match the best 15-game record in 38 Division I seasons (the 1984-85 team was 12-3 after 15 games) and match its most non-conference wins of the Division I era and the last 41 seasons, dating back to the 1966-67 campaign. In the Division I era, the Aztecs won 11 such games four times, including twice previously under Steve Fisher (in the 2001-02 NCAA Tournament season and in the 2006-07 NIT campaign).
San Diego State will also look to extend its Cox Arena-record win streak of 13 games, the fifth longest homecourt win streak in school history and the longest in 27 years. The Aztecs' last home loss, as of Saturday's game, occurred 371 days ago on Jan. 3, 2007. The current 13-game homecourt winning streak is the 11th-longest active win streak nationally entering Monday's games.
On Saturday, the Aztecs opened their 10th season of basketball in the Mountain West Conference with a 64-57 decision over TCU. San Diego State never trailed in the contest, racing to leads of 17-5, 23-6 and 28-8 before settling for a 32-13 lead at intermission. The Aztecs led by at least seven points the final 34:32 of the contest in winning their fifth MWC opener in the last six seasons.
Junior forward Lorrenzo Wade paced San Diego State with a team-high 18 points and eight rebounds. That completed a solid week for the junior, who had a career-high 23 points in the previous contest against Sam Houston State (Dec. 28). Four players reached the double-figure plateau for the Aztecs, as Wade was joined by junior center Ryan Amoroso (12 points), junior guard Kelvin Davis (12 points and five rebounds) and junior forward Kyle Spain (11 points, five rebounds and three assists).
The Aztecs limited the Horned Frogs to just 13 first-half points and 15.4 percent from the field prior to intermission. The 13 points are the fewest yielded by any Aztec team in a half of basketball since the beginning of the 1999-2000 season. San Diego State allowed just 57 points, marking the fourth time this season an opponent has failed to reach 60 points. The Aztecs have won eight straight games and are 47-5 in the Steve Fisher era when their opponent scores less than 60 points.
Northern Colorado improved to 7-8 on Sunday with a 55-52 victory over Weber State. The Bears have split against two Mountain West Conference foes this season, dropping a 71-62 decision at Air Force on Nov. 10 and defeating Colorado State 72-59 on Dec. 1.
The game against the Bears starts a tough stretch for the Aztecs, who will play three games in the next eight days against opponents that are a combined 30-14 (Wednesday vs. Northern Colorado 7-8, Saturday at New Mexico 14-2 and next Wednesday vs. Utah 9-4).