Jan. 12, 2017
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU Men's Basketball Game Notes | SDSU Broadcast Flip Card
NEWS AND NOTES (through Jan. 11 games)
* San Diego State concludes a brief two-game homestand with a Saturday-night contest against Utah State. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. PT and the Mountain West tilt will air exclusively on ESPN3.
* The Aztecs snapped a three-game losing streak on Tuesday with a 76-61 victory over San José State. Five SDSU players reached double figures in scoring and the Aztecs used a plus-12 rebound advantage and limited the Spartans to 37.9-percent shooting from the field in cruising to the 15-point victory. SDSU did not trail in the final 34:23 and led by double figures the final 26:14 of the game.
* In the process of earning their first Mountain West win of the season, the Aztecs outrebounded the Spartans, 42-30, limited SJSU to just two second-chance points and two fastbreak points. San Diego State also had 17 assists on 25 baskets.
* Sophomore Max Hoetzel scored a team-high tying 12 points and matched a career-high with nine rebounds en route to his fourth consecutive double-digit scoring performance. The Indiana transfer has made a three-point field goal in nine consecutive games and is 16-for-30 (53.3 percent) from bonus distance and has 22 rebounds (5.5 rpg) in his last four games.
* Hoetzel ranks eighth nationally in three-point field-goal percentage in conference games (minimum four conference games and 4.0 3FGM/game).
* The San Diego State bench was productive in the win over San José State as it produced 23 points (7-15 FG), 13 rebounds, four assists, two blocked shots and three steals. Leading the way was Missouri transfer Montaque Gill-Caesar, who had 10 points, four boards and a season-high two steals. Valentine Izundu, a graduate transfer from Washington State, added five points and seven rebounds. In Mountain West play, Izundu has made 9-of-10 from the floor and is averaging 7.5 rebounds over his last two outings.
* In the game vs. SJSU, the Aztecs nearly had their full complement of players, but were still missing junior starter Malik Pope (knee), who missed his sixth game in a row. San Diego State has now lost 20 games this season due to injury from individuals expected to make contributions at the beginning of the season (Pope 9, Matt Shrigley 4, Hoetzel 3, Jeremy Hemsley 1, Nolan Narain 1, Izundu 1, D'Erryl Williams 1).
* Despite dealing with numerous injuries to numerous players, San Diego State ranks 26th nationally in scoring defense (63.4) and 32nd nationally in field-goal percentage defense (39.2 percent). At the Mountain West level, those figures rank first and second, respectively.
* The Aztecs will look to improve upon their defensive numbers against a Utah State team they have defeated seven straight times. In fact, the Aggies have never beaten San Diego State since they joined the Mountain West ahead of the 2013-14 campaign. SDSU is 7-3 all-time vs. Utah State.
* SDSU, which has uncharacteristically dropped two home games this season, will look to hold serve at Viejas Arena and climb the MW standings. Since the start of the 2009-10 season, the Aztecs own the ninth-best home winning percentage nationally at 89.5 percent (111-13).
* San Diego State has dropped four games this season by six points or less. Despite being 0-4 in those contests this year, the Aztecs are a remarkable 50-26 (65.8 percent) in games decided by six points or less or in overtime since the beginning of the 2010-11 campaign.