Jan. 15, 2016
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU Men's Basketball Game Notes | SDSU Broadcast Flip
NEWS AND NOTES (through Jan. 14 games)
* The two teams that tied for the 2015 Mountain West regular-season title, were picked one (SDSU) and two (Boise) in the league's preseason poll, and are the only remaining unbeaten teams in league play, meet Saturday at Taco Bell Arena.
* This marks just the second time in 17 Mountain West seasons that an unbeaten San Diego State team (conference games only) has faced another league member with a perfect conference record with at least four MW games played. The first occurrence was when No. 4/4 SDSU played at No. 9/9 Brigham Young on Jan. 26, 2011 (the Cougars won, 71-58). Both teams were 5-0.
* Of the 10 other Mountain West teams, San Diego State has won its most recent encounter with nine of those opponents. The only team that has defeated the Aztecs in their most recent meeting is Boise State.
* San Diego State leads the all-time series with Boise State, 8-3, but the Broncos swept the two games last season and have won two of the last three meetings at Taco Bell Arena.
* Boise State has won 10 consecutive games (third-longest active streak nationally) and 17 consecutive home games (13th-longest active streak nationally).
* The Aztecs have handed the Broncos two of their last seven home losses (Feb. 29, 2012 and Feb. 5, 2014).
* San Diego State is 10-3 in its last 13 road games and is 43-19 in road games since the beginning of the 2010-11 campaign. With a road winning percentage of 69.4 during that span, the Aztecs rank third nationally behind only Wichita State (52-12, 81.3 percent) and Gonzaga (43-14, 75.4 percent).
* The Aztecs travel to Boise having won four straight games overall, six consecutive Mountain West games (dating back to last season) and six straight road games at MW opponents (also dating back to last season).
* San Diego State is looking for just its second 5-0 start to Mountain West play (2011).
* SDSU 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 ninth nationally, allowing 92.2 points per 100 possessions according to Kenpom.
* The Aztecs are seventh nationally in points allowed per game (60.5), sixth in field-goal percentage defense (36.6) and fourth in two-point field-goal percentage defense (38.9 percent). By comparison, Boise State has been held below 60 points just once in 17 games this season.
* Sophomore guard Trey Kell is coming off a career-high 19 points in the victory at Colorado State. Kell also added five rebounds and tied a career high with five assists against the Rams. It marked the 45th time in the Steve Fisher era that an Aztec player produced a game with 16+ points, 5+ rebounds and 5+ assists. He has tied a career high by reaching double figures in scoring in four consecutive games (14.0 ppg).
* True freshman Jeremy Hemsley posted his eighth consecutive double-digit scoring game, with 14 points against Colorado State. The true freshman leads San Diego State in scoring (no freshman has led SDSU in scoring since Kawhi Leonard in 2009-10), assists and minutes played. Hemsley has multiple treys in four straight games (11-of-20, 55.0 pct.).
* Senior forward Winston Shepard scored eight points (all in the second half) and added three rebounds in the victory at CSU. The senior has been outstanding during conference play, averaging 14.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.8 steals in SDSU's 4-0 Mountain West start.
* Sophomore Malik Pope tied a season-high with 14 points on Wednesday. He has made his last three 3FGA and has at least four rebounds in four consecutive games.
* SDSU has outrebounded 12 of its 17 opponents this season. The Aztecs have outrebounded their three MW opponents, 155-123.
* San Diego State is 21-1 the last 22 times it has shot at least 37.1 percent from the field. In its six losses this season, the Aztecs have shot 34.6 percent from the field and 26.7 percent from three-point range.
* Uncharacteristically, San Diego State has six 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).
* Of SDSU's six losses this season, five have come to teams with a combined record of 71-11 (Utah: 12-5, Little Rock: 15-1, West Virginia: 15-1, Grand Canyon: 15-2 and Kansas: 14-2).
* SDSU, which owns a Mountain West-high nine league titles (five regular-season titles and four tournament championships), is the conference favorite to successfully defend its regular-season crown, as revealed in the MW's preseason poll back in October.
* The Aztecs have won the outright championship or shared for regular-season Mountain West title in four of the last five seasons (2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015).