Dec. 2, 2017
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU Men's Basketball Game Notes | SDSU Broadcast Flip Card
NEWS AND NOTES Through games of Fri., Dec. 1
* San Diego State opens a three-game homestand on Sunday afternoon when it plays host to Bradley. The non-conference game is part of the Mountain West-Missouri Valley Challenge and will stream live on the Mountain West Network on STADIUM and simulcast on Facebook Live.
* The Aztecs are concluding a stretch of five games in 11 days. During this span the Aztecs, have posted a 4-1 record playing Sacramento State (Big Sky), Georgia (SEC), Washington State (Pac-12), San Diego (WCC) and Bradley (Missouri Valley).
* This marks the only game in the five-game, 11-day stretch that is being played at home.
* San Diego State is coming off a workmanlike 66-57 road victory over San Diego. The Aztecs won for the 11th time in the last 12 outings against the Toreros and for the fifth straight time as the road team in the series.
* Playing without senior guard Trey Kell (team captain) and junior forward Max Montana, the Aztecs used a 13-1 run early in the first half to take control of the game. SDSU built 14-point advantages in both halves and led by at least four points the final 33:30 of the game before settling for the nine-point win.
* Junior guard Devin Watson enjoyed the best game of his San Diego State career, making his first six attempts from the field en route to a season-high 26 points, while adding a season-best five steals. He played all 40 minutes in the contest and has reached double figures in points in six straight contests.
* Watson, who is one of 46 players in the nation currently averaging at least 15 points, three rebounds and four assists per game, needs just eight points to reach the 1,000-point plateau for his career. On Thursday, the junior became just the third Aztec player in the last 22 seasons to produce a game with at least 25 points and five steals (also: Jamaal Franklin - Dec. 30, 2011; Jason Richey - Dec. 3, 1996).
* True freshman forward Matt Mitchell reached double figures for a fifth consecutive game scoring 13 points and adding four rebounds.
* At 6-2, San Diego State has matched its best eight-game start to a season since the 2014-15 team opened with the same record.
* As previously mentioned, San Diego State opens a three-game homestand at Steve Fisher Court at Viejas Arena. The Aztecs are 3-0 at home this season, having outscored the opposition by 101 points on the court named for the two-time national coach of the year.
* Brian Dutcher is off to a 6-2 start and has matched the best record by an Aztec coach in his first season in the 97-year history of the program. The only first-year coach to match Dutcher out of the gate was the legendary coaching duo of Don Delauer and Dick Mitchell who opened the 1942-43 campaign with a 6-2 record.
* Although it is early, San Diego State is currently averaging 81.5 points per game after only averaging 70 points once (2013-14) in the last five seasons. The current scoring pace is the highest since the 1984-85 team averaged 80.4 points per contest.
* Since the beginning of the 2005-06 campaign, San Diego State is 172-24 at home, including an 87-10 non-conference record at Viejas during that span. The overall home mark is the 11th-best nationally over the last 12 seasons.
* The Aztecs enter the Mountain West-Missouri Valley Challenge with a 4-2 record in the event and winners of two of their last three. SDSU dropped a road decision last season at Loyola-Chicago, 65-59.
* Bradley is 7-1 on the season, has won five consecutive games and has not allowed more than 69 points in a game this season. Nationally, the Braves are sixth in points allowed per game (58.0), sixth in defensive field-goal percentage (35.4 pct.) and 10th in three-point field-goal percentage defense (24.9 percent).