Nov. 27, 2015
LAS VEGAS -
SDSU Men's Basketball Game Notes | SDSU Broadcast Flip
NEWS AND NOTES
* Just over 20 hours (20 hours, 21 minutes) after disposing of No. 14/13 California, San Diego State looks to claim the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational inside the Orleans Arena when the Aztecs face undefeated No. rv/22 West Virginia.
* On the strength of a 14-0 run, which was part of a larger 28-5 run, San Diego State rallied from a 15-point second-half deficit to defeat the Golden Bears in the semifinal game Thursday evening.
* The 15-point second-half deficit is the second largest overcome by the Aztecs under head coach Steve Fisher, eclipsed only by the 16-point comeback against New Mexico to clinch the 2014 Mountain West regular-season title.
* The Aztecs survived a stretch in which it made one of just 19 field-goal attempts. How did they do it? They held California 27.2 points below its season average entering the game.
* For the game, California shot just 37.5 percent from the floor, the same percentage it shot when the Aztecs defeated the Golden Bears during the 2010-11 campaign.
* The Aztecs outshot California (39.0-37.5) and is 128-6 the last 134 times it has had an advantage in the category.
* San Diego State has now won 149 consecutive games when leading with five minutes to play.
* Senior forward Winston Sheppard tied for team-high honors with 15 points, five rebounds, and a game- and season-high four assists with no turnovers in 27 minutes. A Houston native, Shepard had a team-high plus/minus rating of +20.
* Senior forward Skylar Spencer scored a career-high 15 points, including three dunks, on 5-of-5 field-goal shooting.
* Freshman forward Zylan Cheatham posted the first double-double of his career with a career-high tying 13 points and a career-high 10 rebounds.
* Freshman point guard Jeremy Hemsley played 30 turnover-free minutes and added 14 points and six rebounds. It was the fourth consecutive double-digit scoring game and the fifth in six games for the true freshman.
* San Diego State posted its 43rd consecutive non-conference victory against teams from the state of California (includes six Pac-12 games during that stretch).
* The win extended San Diego State's school record of defeating an AP Top 25 opponent in each of the last eight seasons.
* San Diego State, which is 7-6 against AP Top 25 teams since the beginning of the 2013-14 season, is one of just 11 programs in the nation to play at least 10 games and post a winning record in such games.
* The Aztecs are playing in a city where they have had considerable success over the last several seasons. Since 2008-09, San Diego State is 22-8 in games played in Las Vegas, including a 7-2 mark the last two-plus years.
* We know it is early, but SDSU's defensive efficiency is ranked sixth by Kenpom following last night's game. San Diego State has held all six of its opponents this season to 40 percent or less from the field and the season percentage of 35.0 is 20th nationally.
* Skylar Spencer, the 2015 Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year, set the school's all-time blocked shot record last year as a junior and has 237 to date. He is seven blocks shy of the conference record held by Wyoming's Justin Williams (244).
* Although San Diego State and West Virginia have never met, the Aztecs have had some recent encounters with the Big 12 Conference. The Aztecs have won their last two encounters with Big 12 foes. On March 22, 2013, SDSU defeated Oklahoma, 70-55, in the second round of the NCAA tournament and on Jan. 5, 2014, the Aztecs won at Allen Fieldhouse, defeating Kansas, 61-57 (KU's last home loss).