Jan. 5, 2017
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU Men's Basketball Game Notes | SDSU Broadcast Flip Card
NEWS AND NOTES
* San Diego State completes a stretch of three games in three states in seven days on Saturday when the Aztecs hit the road to face the only unbeaten Mountain West team in league play, Boise State.
* 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.
* Saturday's game will mark the 14th meeting between the teams, with San Diego State owning a 9-4 advantage in the series. SDSU is 3-2 against the Broncos in Boise and the road team has won three straight meetings in the series.
* Last season, the teams split the series with each team claiming a three-point victory on the road (SDSU won 56-53 at Taco Bell Arena and Boise State won 66-63 at Viejas Arena).
* Boise State has won 10 straight home games and the Aztecs have handed the Broncos three of their last nine losses at Taco Bell Arena (dating back to Feb. 29, 2012). SDSU is 3-2 at Boise during that stretch, while the rest of the country is 6-57.
* San Diego State suffered its second consecutive heartbreaking loss in league play on Wednesday, dropping a 72-69 decision at Nevada. The Aztecs made 13 three-point field goals and committed just seven turnovers, but were unable to overcome a 46-34 rebound disadvantage.
* Despite the loss, sophomore guard Jeremy Hemsley had a remarkable night, scoring a career-high 30 points (21 after intermission), with five assists, three rebounds and no turnovers in 33 minutes of action. It marked just the sixth time this season a Division I player scored at least 30 points with five assists and no turnovers in a game. No San Diego State player has done it in at least 21 seasons.
* Hemsley is averaging a team-high 17.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. Hemsley has reached double figures in four straight games (19.5 ppg) and has a trey in five consecutive games (3.0 3FGM/g).
* Sophomore forward Max Hoetzel continues to impress in his debut season with the Aztecs. The Indiana transfer tied a season-high with 15 points at Nevada on Wednesday, connecting on 5-of-9 attempts from beyond the arc. Hoetzel has a trey in seven consecutive games and in his last two games has 25 points in 43 minutes of action, connecting on 7-of-13 three-pointers (53.8 percent), with eight rebounds and only one turnover.
* SDSU has played both conference games without starter Malik Pope (knee), who missed his seventh game of the season and has scored just 62 points in the 2016-17 campaign (he averaged 12.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and shot 51.5 percent from three-point range during the last nine games of last season) and senior captain Matt Shrigley (ankle), who is averaging 20.2 minutes per game this season and has connected on eight of his last 16 attempts from three-point range (50.0 percent).
* Both Pope and Shrigley are questionable for Saturday's game at Boise State.
* San Diego State has now lost 17 games this season due to injury from individuals expected to make contributions (Pope 7, Shrigley 6, Hoetzel 1, Valentine Izundu 1).
* San Diego State has dropped four games this season by six points or less. Despite being 0-4 in those contests this season, the Aztecs are a remarkable 50-26 in games decided by six points or less or in overtime since the beginning of the 2010-11 campaign.
* San Diego State is 14-7 in its last 21 games played away from Viejas Arena and is 11-2 in its last 13 road conference tilts.
* San Diego State's defense appears to be rounding into form. In the last six games, the Aztecs have held their opposition to 57.2 points, 36.3-percent field-goal shooting and a 30.0 three-point field-goal percentage.