Dec. 29, 2016
HONOLULU -
SDSU Men's Basketball Game Notes | SDSU Broadcast Flip Card
NEWS AND NOTES
* San Diego State begins its quest for an unprecedented fourth consecutive Mountain West regular-season title when the Aztecs play host to New Mexico on Sunday. Game time is set for 2 p.m. PT and the contest will air on CBS Sports Network.
* The Aztecs have won a league-high 10 Mountain West men's basketball championships (six regular-season titles and four tournament crowns). Steve Fisher has been the head coach for all 10 of those titles.
* Sunday's meeting will mark the 83rd all-time meeting between the teams with New Mexico owning a 44-38 series advantage. The Aztecs have won 17 of the last 26 encounters (17-9) and has swept the series the last two seasons (four consecutive wins).
* The 82 previous meetings makes the series the third-most frequently played in Aztec basketball history.
* Of SDSU's 38 all-time victories over UNM, a series that dates back to 1976, 21 have come with Steve Fisher as the head coach.
* Steve Fisher's 21 victories over New Mexico are the most by any active coach in the country and are more than twice as many as current Oklahoma coach and former UNLV coach Lon Kruger, who is in second place with nine.
* San Diego State responded from its first three-game losing streak in 152 games by winning four consecutive games. The Aztecs have not lost since Dec. 10, a span that will reach 21 days on Sunday.
* During the four-game winning streak, the Aztecs have held their opposition to 50.8 points, 34.1-percent field-goal shooting and a 26.7 three-point field-goal percentage. SDSU has outscored its opponents by 80 points during the four-game win streak, with each victory coming by at least a 14-point margin.
* San Diego State is coming off a championship at the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic. The Aztecs posted a 3-0 record, disposing of Southern Miss (66-51), Tulsa (82-63) and San Francisco (62-48), which ended on Christmas Day.
* The in-season title is San Diego State's first since claiming the DirecTV Wooden Legacy early in the 2013-14 season. That squad went on to post a 31-5 record and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16.
* Forward Zylan Cheatham earned most-outstanding-player honors at the event. The sophomore, who had never scored in double figures three consecutive games in the first 46 games of his career, has now done so in four consecutive games. In the three tournament games, he averaged 15.7 points and 9.3 rebounds while connecting on 14-of-21 field goals (66.7 percent) and 18-of-21 free throws (85.7 percent).
* Junior guard Trey Kell also was named to the all-tournament team. Kell, who leads the Aztecs in minutes played, averaged 13.3 points, 4.0 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.7 steals, and had just three turnovers in 87 minutes played. He connected on 48.3 percent from the floor and was a perfect 7-for-7 from the line.
* San Diego State set a record for the event by connecting on 29 treys in the three-game event. Making threes has been a good indicator of SDSU's success, as the Aztecs are 35-1 since the beginning of 2010-11 when making at least nine in a game.
* The Aztecs have held four consecutive opponents to 44.4 percent or less from the field. Since the beginning of 2010-11, SDSU is 154-26 when limiting the opposition to that figure, including 86-4 at home. SDSU has won 13 straight home games when limiting the opponent to 44.4 percent or less from the floor, dating back to Dec. 22, 2015 (No. 2 Kansas, 57-70). Against MW opponents at home, SDSU is 47-1 the last 48 times it has held its opponent to 44.4 percent or less in the field-goal percentage category.
* Following the game, San Diego State hits the road for significant contests at Nevada (Jan. 4) and at Boise State (Jan. 7). This is SDSU's only home game in a 28-day period (Dec. 13 to Jan. 9).