March 10, 2017
LAS VEGAS -
SDSU Men's Basketball Game Notes | SDSU Broadcast Flip Card
NEWS AND NOTES (through March 9)
* Having reached the Mountain West semifinals for the 10th consecutive season, San Diego State faces Colorado State on Friday night at 9:30 p.m. PT in the event's second semifinal game.
* The Aztecs reached the semifinal round by rallying from a 21-point deficit to defeat UNLV for an 11th consecutive time, 62-52 in overtime, and in possibly their best overall performance of the season, defeated Boise State, 87-68.
* San Diego State is looking to advance to the championship game for the fourth straight season, the eighth time in nine years and the 10th time in Mountain West history. SDSU's nine appearances in the title game is the best among active members.
* San Diego State is looking to secure its 12th consecutive 20-win campaign. The streak, which currently stands at 11, is tied for the seventh-longest active streak in the nation.
* Junior forward Malik Pope has posted a pair of double-doubles the last two days (13 points, career-best 12 rebounds at UNLV, and a career-high 22 points and 10 rebounds vs. Boise State). He now has three career Mountain West tourney double-doubles, matching Kawhi Leonard and Marcus Slaughter for the most in school history.
* San Diego State dropped two one-point decisions to Colorado State this season. The Aztecs lost 78-77 in San Diego on Jan. 28, and 56-55 on Feb. 25 in Fort Collins.
* The teams have met five times at neutral sites with all of them coming in the Mountain West tournament (2006, 2007, 2010, 2012 and 2015). The Aztecs have won four of those meetings, dropping only the 2007 game. This is the third time the teams have played in the semifinal round.
* With a 2-0 record this season, San Diego State improves to 27-13 in the Mountain West tourney. The 67.5-percent success rate is the highest winning percentage among the league's current membership.
* SDSU has won this event four times (2002, 2006, 2010 and 2011), which is tied with New Mexico for the league lead.
* Amazingly, San Diego State has played for the tournament title three straight years and in seven of the last eight seasons (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2016).
* The Aztecs are the six seed for the third time in the Mountain West era (2004, 2005) and own a 3-2 record in that slot.
* Although SDSU has been the No. 1 seed on four occasions (2006, 2012, 2014 and 2016), the Aztecs have only won the event once as the top seed (2006). Other championships have been won from the No. 2 (2011), No. 4 (2010) and No. 5 (2002) positions.
* Four San Diego State student-athletes earned all-conference recognition this week. Junior guard Trey Kell earned third-team (coaches, media) honors, sophomore guard Jeremy Hemsley (coaches), sophomore forward Zylan Cheatham (media) and senior guard Dakarai Allen (media) were named honorable mention. Allen was also named the defensive player of the year and voted to the all-conference defensive team by the coaches.
* This marks the third consecutive season a member of the San Diego State team has been named defensive player of the year in the league (Skylar Spencer in 205 and 2016).
* Fisher-coached teams are 31-19 at Thomas & Mack Center (includes Mountain West postseason games). Fisher's 31 victories in the building are the second most among active Division I head coaches, trailing only former UNLV head coach and current Oklahoma head coach Lon Kruger (100).
* San Diego State is very familiar with Thomas & Mack Center, which is also the home of the MW Championship, and has experienced plenty of success in the building over the years. Since the start of the 2013-14 campaign, the Aztecs are 12-3 in the building with the three blemishes being single-digit losses in the MW title game. The venue has played host to SDSU celebrations at the Mountain West tournament in 2002, 2010 and 2011.
* Junior forward Malik Pope, who has accounted for nine of SDSU's 28 missed games this season due to injury, is averaging 12.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.0 blocks during his last 13 games. During that span, he is shooting 43.3 percent from three-point range. In the two tourney games he is averaging 17.5 points, 11.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 blocked shots.
* Pope has produced remarkable numbers in his career against Colorado State (see bottom of page one). This season is no different, posting 29 points, 14 rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots in 48 minutes of action covering two games.
* Kell leads SDSU in scoring (13.1), assists (2.9) and minutes played (31.7). He is one of four players in the league (Elijah Brown (UNM), Jaron Hopkins (FS) and Chandler Hutchinson (BSU)) to average 13 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.0 steal per game.
* Hemsley is averaging 12.9 points and leads the team in three-point field goals (55).
* Long known as one of the best defensive players in the country (see page 47 of the media guide), Allen has continued his strong offensive play. In his last 13 games, he is averaging 8.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists. During that stretch, he has made 42-of-75 attempts from the floor (56.0 percent).
* Allen led all MW players in effective field-goal percentage in league games at 62.6 percent (minimum 80 FGA).
* Allen is one of just five players in the Steve Fisher era to record at least 300 rebounds, 100 assists, 100 steals and 50 blocked shots, joining Marcus Slaughter, Chase Tapley, Lorrenzo Wade and Billy White.
* Senior center Valentine Izundu has nine blocks in the two Mountain West tournament games, tied for the third most in league history. He now has 52 blocked shots on the season, which is tied for the sixth most in program history.
* Despite a 9-9 league record, SDSU was +59 scoring margin in MW games. In five of its nine league defeats, it owned a lead of at least 11 points. In the other four games, it had a seven-point advantage three times and a shot at the buzzer to force overtime in the other.
* Combining the Aztecs' largest leads in their nine conference losses, it totaled 87 points.
* KenPom lists the Aztecs as the ninth "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 12 unluckiest teams in the nation, SDSU is one of only two teams with a winning record.
* San Diego State is 2-10 this season in games decided by eight points or less. Prior to this season, the Aztecs were 50-22 in games decided by six points or less or in overtime.
* Once again, San Diego State is the top-ranked defensive unit in the conference. In MW games only, the Aztecs ranked first in points allowed (63.2), field-goal percentage defense (38.5 percent) and blocked shots (4.8 bpg), and second in steals (6.8 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 (62.3) and field-goal percentage defense (38.5).