Feb. 14, 2017
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU Men's Basketball Game Notes | SDSU Broadcast Flip Card
NEWS AND NOTES (through Feb. 13)
* Winners of three of its last four games, San Diego State travels to Logan, Utah, to face Utah State on Wednesday evening.
* The Aztecs and Aggies are meeting for just the 12th time with SDSU owning an 8-3 series advantage. San Diego State has won the last eight meetings between the teams, which includes every get-together since the Aggies joined the Mountain West.
* The Aztecs have won on their last two trips to Logan (74-69 in overtime in 2014 and 70-67 in 2016; SDSU did not play at Utah State during the 2014-15 campaign).
* On Sunday, SDSU defeated Nevada, 70-56, at Viejas Arena. The Aztecs held the Wolf Pack to season lows in points (56) and field-goal percentage (29.9 percent).
* In that contest vs. Nevada, junior guard Trey Kell became the 31st player in school history to eclipse 1,000 career points.
* Kell has reached double figures in a season-long nine consecutive games and during that stretch is averaging 16.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. In his last four games, he has made seven of his 15 attempts from bonus distance (46.7 percent).
* Junior forward Malik Pope has not missed a beat since returning from a knee injury that has kept him out of nine games and countless practices this season. Pope, who has played in the last eight games and started the last five has nine or more points in each of his last five contests and is coming off his first double-double of the season (12 points and 10 rebounds vs. Nevada).
* In those five games, Pope is averaging 13.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.4 steals in 28.6 minutes of action. He is 24-of-46 from the field (52.2 percent) and 6-of-12 from three-point range (50.0 percent) during that stretch.
* Long-known as one of the best defensive players in the country (see page 47 of the media guide), senior Dakarai Allen is becoming a consistent offensive threat. In Allen's last 10 games, he is averaging 10.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists, with 10 steals and 10 blocked shots. He is shooting 61.5 percent (40-of-65) from the field and 50.0 percent from beyond the arc (7-of-14) during that span.
* Allen leads the Mountain West in league games in effective field-goal percentage (min. 70 FGA) at 63.8 percent.
* Sophomore Jeremy Hemsley is beginning to play better. The point guard has produced consecutive double-digit scoring games and was explosive off the dribble, scoring 15 points in the win over Nevada.
* 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 (65.8), field-goal percentage defense (39.3 percent) and blocked shots (5.2 bpg), and second in steals (7.0 spg). 
* In each of the last three seasons, SDSU has led the Mountain West (all games) in points allowed per game and field-goal percentage defense. The Aztecs this season own the top defense in terms of points allowed and field-goal percentage defense.
* Despite a 6-6 league record, SDSU still owns a +43 scoring margin in MW games. In four of its six defeats, it has owned a lead of at least 11 points and in the other two games it had a seven-point advantage and had a shot at the buzzer to force overtime.
* San Diego State is third in the league in conference scoring margin at +3.6.
* SDSU has missed 21 games due to injury from players expected to contribute at the beginning of the season.
* San Diego State entered the season 50-2 since the beginning of the 2010-11 campaign in games decided by six points or less in overtime. This season, the Aztecs are an uncharacteristic 1-7 in such games.
* KenPom lists the Aztecs as the eighth "unluckiest" team in the country (a measure of a team's actual winning percentage and what one would expect from its game-by-game efficiencies). Among the 15 unluckiest teams in the nation, SDSU is the only one with a winning record.