March 18, 2016
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU Men's Basketball Game Notes | SDSU Broadcast Flip
NEWS AND NOTES (through March 17)
* The three-time defending regular-season Mountain West champions continue play in an NCAA-sponsored postseason event (NCAA or NIT) for the 11th consecutive year when No. 2-seed San Diego State plays host to No. 3-seed Washington in the final second round game of the NIT Monday night on Steve Fisher Court at Viejas Arena.
* General public tickets go on sale at 9 a.m. PT on Friday and start at $10. Tickets are available online at GoAztecs.com and at the Viejas Arena ticket office. San Diego State's first-round attendance of 8,324 was the second largest of the 16 first-round games (just 96 short of the UAB-Brigham Young attendance, which had the benefit of being played a day later).
* San Diego State and Washington are meeting for the fifth time with the Huskies owning a 3-1 series lead. The teams split a home-and-home series during the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons. SDSU won 70-63 in San Diego on Dec. 8, 2013, while Washington claimed a 49-36 victory on Dec. 7, 2014.
* As previously stated, SDSU is playing in an NCAA-sponsored postseason event (NCAA or NIT) for an 11th consecutive year. That is tied for the eighth-longest active streak in the nation. See list below
* SDSU extended a streak of winning in the postseason with the victory over IPFW in the first round. The Aztecs have won at least one game in an NCAA-sponsored postseason event (NCAA or NIT) in each of the last four seasons, which is tied for the fourth-longest active streak nationally (through Thursday's games). See list below
* This marks San Diego State's sixth appearance in the postseason NIT and first since the 2009 campaign (the Aztecs appeared in the NCAA tournament the last six seasons). SDSU owns a 6-5 record in the event, including a 1-2 record in the second round of the event.
* San Diego State's last NIT appearance was very similar to this season. In 2009, the Aztecs were the last team left out of the NCAA tournament, earned a No. 1 seed in the NIT, and rallied from the disappointment to defeat Weber State (65-49), Kansas State (70-52) and Saint Mary's (70-66) to advance to the national semifinals in Madison Square Garden in New York City.
* SDSU won its Mountain West-high 10th men's basketball title by capturing the regular-season championship this season (six regular-season titles, four tournament titles). All 10 titles have come under the direction of head coach Steve Fisher, who has won four more Mountain West titles than any other coach in league history.
* San Diego State opened postseason play last Tuesday with a 79-55 victory over IPFW. Senior forward Winston Shepard recorded the first triple-double in the 2,508-game history of San Diego State Basketball with 10 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high 12 assists. The Aztecs shot 53.3 percent from the field and won for the 61st straight time at home when shooting at least 50 percent from the field.
* Sophomore Malik Pope added a team-high 15 points and eight rebounds in 25 minutes of action. Pope, who has reached double figures in scoring in five of his last six games, is averaging 14.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists in his last six contests.
* Junior Dakarai Allen scored 10 points and is averaging 10.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, while shooting 53.5 percent from the floor in his last six games.
* The Aztecs are 9-6 in their last 15 games against Pac-12 teams regardless of location. In nine of those 15 games, the Pac-12 opponent has been ranked in the AP Top 25 at the time of the game (4-5).
* San Diego State has won six straight home games against Pac-12 schools not ranked in the top 15 at the time of the game.