Jan. 30, 2017
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU Men's Basketball Game Notes | SDSU Broadcast Flip Card
NEWS AND NOTES (through Jan. 29)
* San Diego State looks to bounce back from a pair of disappointing losses last week when it plays host to Wyoming on Tuesday evening at Viejas Arena. It is the only regular-season meeting between the teams this season.
* On Saturday, for the second consecutive game, San Diego State led for more than 30 minutes, had a double-digit second-half advantage, but was unable to come away with a victory as Colorado State edged the Aztecs, 78-77.
* Despite a 3-5 conference record, SDSU still owns a +22 scoring margin in league games and in four of its five defeats, has owned a lead of at least 11 points and in the other game had a shot at the buzzer to force overtime.
* The Aztecs have dropped Mountain West games this season by margins of 1, 3 (twice), 6 and 12 points.
* SDSU has not suffered consecutive home conference losses since 2005. The Aztecs have responded from its last 13 league home defeats by winning in its next opportunity at Viejas. SDSU has gone 95 conference home games without suffering consecutive losses.
* In those 13 games mentioned above, SDSU's average winning margin is 14.9 points.
* SDSU and Wyoming are meeting for the 80th time, with the Cowboys owning a 40-39 advantage. The Aztecs have won two straight (swept the series last season, 67-55 in San Diego and 73-61 in Laramie) and have won four of the last five games in the series.
* SDSU owns a 24-11 advantage in games played in San Diego, including an 11-5 record against the Cowboys in Viejas Arena. SDSU has won the last eight home games vs. Wyoming, dating back to Jan. 3, 2007.
* Despite the loss on Saturday, the Aztecs enjoyed an impressive offensive performance. SDSU committed just five turnovers, its lowest in a conference game since Feb. 13, 2016, and had a conference season-high 28 free-throw attempts. All five starters reached double figures for SDSU.
* Once again, San Diego State is the top-ranked defensive unit in the conference. In MW games only, the Aztecs rank first in points allowed (65.4), first in field-goal percentage defense (40.3 percent), fourth in blocked shots (4.6 bpg) and fifth in steals (6.4 spg).
* In each of the last three seasons, SDSU has led the Mountain West for all games in points allowed per game and field-goal percentage defense. The Aztecs own the top numbers in league games in both of those categories this season.
* San Diego State has shown remarkable improvement on defense as the season has progressed. Over the last five games, the Aztecs have allowed 61.0 points with opponents shooting just 39.7 percent from the field. The Aztecs have limited four of their five opponents to 38.5 percent or less from the field during that stretch.
* SDSU has suffered a number of heart-breaking losses this season. Despite being 0-6 in those contests this year, the Aztecs are a remarkable 50-28 (64.1 percent) in games decided by six points or less or in overtime since the beginning of the 2010-11 campaign.
* First the good news. Junior Malik Pope started for the first time in more than a month on Saturday. The forward, who has missed nine games this season due to a knee injury, scored a team- and season-high 19 points and added a team- and season-high seven rebounds. He was 7-of-12 from the floor and added two assists in 22 minutes of action.
* Now the bad news. Sophomore Zylan Cheatham is suffering from a stress reaction in his foot and was unable to play last Saturday. The Aztecs third leading scorer (10.3) and leading rebounder (6.5) on the season is questionable for Tuesday.
* Sophomore Max Hoetzel continues to be one of the nation's best long-range shooters over the past month. He extended his career-long streak of games with multiple treys to eight by connecting on a pair against Colorado State. During that stretch, he is 26-of-50 (52.0 percent).