March 22, 2016
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU Men's Basketball Game Notes | SDSU Broadcast Flip
NEWS AND NOTES (through March 21)
* Having won multiple games in either the NCAA tournament or postseason NIT for the fourth time in eight seasons (2009 NIT semifinals, 2011 NCAA Sweet 16, 2014 NCAA Sweet 16, 2016 NIT quarterfinals), second-seeded San Diego State plays host to fourth-seeded Georgia Tech in the quarterfinal round of the NIT for the right to advance to the national semifinals in New York City.
* General public tickets go on sale at 5 p.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 sold out its second-round NIT game, producing the largest attendance to view an NIT tournament game this season. The Aztecs have sold out 72 consecutive regular-season games.
* Wednesday will mark San Diego State's 302nd game played in Viejas Arena and will represent the first time the Aztecs have played host to a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference in the building. The Aztecs are 109-11 in its last 120 games played in the venue.
* That noted, the Yellow Jackets have played in the venue before, dropping a 66-62 decision to St. Joseph's in the first round of the 2001 NCAA tournament played in Cox Arena (same venue, different name) hosted by SDSU.
* San Diego State has never faced Georgia Tech on the hardwood and own a 3-9 record against current members of the ACC. Steve Fisher teams are 14-14 all-time against the league (1-1 against Georgia Tech).
* This is the 11th consecutive season that San Diego State has played an NCAA-sponsored postseason event (NCAA or postseason NIT), the 11th straight year with 20 or more wins, eighth straight campaign with at least 23 victories and the fourth straight season it has won at least one NCAA or NIT game.
* San Diego State's 11 consecutive appearances in the NCAA or postseason NIT is tied for the eighth-longest active streak nationally.
* San Diego State's victory in four straight NCAA or postseason NIT events is tied for the fifth-longest active streak in the country.
* 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 7-5 record in the event, including a 1-0 record in the third round.
* 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 won its 27th game of the season with a 93-78 victory over Washington in front of a sellout crowd at Viejas Arena Monday night. The Aztecs scored a season-high 93 points behind a season-high six players reaching double figures in scoring and led the final 36:47 of the game. Senior forward Winston Shepard scored a season-high 20 points and added 10 rebounds and four assists, while sophomore forward Malik Pope scored 10 points and added a career-high 12 rebounds in the victory.
* San Diego State opened postseason action on March 15 with a 79-55 victory over IPFW. 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.
* Shepard, the only SDSU player in school history to record 1,000 points, 700 rebounds and 250 assists, is playing the best basketball of his career. During the past six games, the senior has averaged 14.7 points, 8.2 rebounds, 5.2 assists.