Dec. 20, 2015
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU Men's Basketball Game Notes | SDSU Broadcast Flip
NEWS AND NOTES
* SDSU continues its season long five-game homestand Tuesday when the Aztecs welcome No. 2/5 Kansas to Viejas Arena.
* Tuesday's matchup is between two of the winningest program's this decade. Since the beginning of the 2010-11 campaign, Kansas is fifth nationally with a 159-36 record (81.5 percent) while San Diego State is eighth with a 148-41 record (78.3 percent).
* The second-ranked (AP) Jayhawks are the highest-ranked opponent to visit Viejas Arena since No. 1 Arizona played in the building on Dec. 7, 2002, when the venue was named Cox Arena.
* This is the fifth time SDSU has faced an opponent ranked fifth or higher in one of the two major polls since the beginning of the 2013-14 campaign (No. 6/5 Arizona on Nov. 14, 2013, vs. No. 4/5 Arizona (NCAA tournament) on March 27, 2014, vs. No. 3/4 Arizona on Nov. 26, 2014, and vs. No. 4/5 Duke (NCAA tournament) on March 22, 2015). Although the Aztecs are 0-4 in those games, the margin has been very tight in three of those contests with SDSU coming up short by two, six and nine points.
* San Diego State owns victories over nationally ranked opponents in eight consecutive seasons, including this year (72-58 vs. No. 14/13 California). The Aztecs own seven wins over top-25 teams since the beginning of the 2013-14 campaign.
* Since the beginning of 2013-14, SDSU owns a 7-6 record against AP Top-25 teams. Its winning percentage of 53.8 ranks 10th nationally among all teams that have at least seven top 25 victories during that span. Kansas is seventh at 18-11 (62.1 percent).
* San Diego State is 5-1 in its last six home games against AP Top-25 teams.
* The Aztecs are 109-10 in their last 119 home games since Nov. 22, 2008.
* San Diego State is once again one of the elite defensive teams in the country. The Aztecs, who ranked ninth in tempo-free adjusted defense in 2013-14 and fourth in 2014-15, are currently seventh nationally, allowing 91.0 points per 100 possessions according to KenPom. The Aztecs lead the nation in two-point field-goal percentage defense at 35.9 percent.
* San Diego State is led in scoring and assists by true freshman Jeremy Hemsley (13.4 points, 2.4 assists). The point guard has been particularly effective at home where he is averaging 15.7 points and 3.1 assists, and shooting 54.1 percent from the field and 40.0 percent from three-point range. No freshman has led the Aztecs in scoring since Kawhi Leonard did it in 2009-10.
* Redshirt freshman Zylan Cheatham is second on the team in scoring (8.5 points) and leads the team in rebounding (6.2). Cheatham is coming off a career-high 11-rebound performance and drew a team-high five fouls against Grand Canyon. He is averaging 6.9 fouls drawn per 40 minutes. If maintained, that would be the highest foul rate posted by an Aztec since 2005-06 when Marcus Slaughter averaged 7.2 fouls drawn per 40 minutes.
* San Diego State is one of only seven schools nationally, whose top two scorers are both freshman (CSUN, Florida State, George Mason, Georgia Southern, Kentucky and Missouri).
* SDSU, which is coming off a loss to Grand Canyon, has responded from its last 23 losses with a victory. That is the longest streak in the nation and the longest since Kansas responded from 33 consecutive losses with a victory from Jan. 21, 2206 to Nov. 15, 2012.
* The Aztecs have gone 94 consecutive games without suffering consecutive losses, which is tied with Arizona for the longest active streak nationally.
* Uncharacteristically, San Diego State has five losses this season, however four of those defeats could have easily gone the other way: at No. 16 Utah (down two with 0:27 to play), vs. Little Rock (tied with 1:44 to play), vs. San Diego (down one with 1:16 to play) and vs. Grand Canyon (up two with 2:59 to play).