Jan. 15, 2018
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU Men's Basketball Game Notes | SDSU Broadcast Flip Card
NEWS AND NOTES Through games of Sunday, Jan. 14
* Winners of eight of its last nine home games, San Diego State plays host to Fresno State on Wednesday night at Viejas Arena. The game will be televised nationally by ESPNU and can be heard on 101.5 KGB, XTRA 1360 and FOX Sports IE 1350 in Southern California, and on the iHeart Radio app.
* The Aztecs had a three-game win streak snapped on Saturday when SDSU suffered a heartbreaking 83-80 defeat at Boise State. The Aztecs rallied from an 11-point deficit in the contest, but was unable to hand the Broncos their first home loss of the season.
* Comparing where San Diego State is this season to where it was entering the sixth conference game each of the last two seasons, the 2017-18 squad is well ahead of pace. The Aztecs have improved their RPI by 39 positions and its KenPom number by 36 spots compared to one year ago. See right box
* This season, San Diego State is 11-0 when holding its opponent to 44 percent or less from the field. The Aztecs are 0-5 when the opposition shoots above 44 percent from the floor.
* San Diego State is 9-0 this season when owning an advantage in field-goal percentage and 9-0 when attempting more free throws.
* The Aztecs rank 33rd in field-goal percentage defense (40.1), 39th nationally in points allowed per possession (.966) and 45th in fewest fouls per game (16.3). SDSU has held eight of its 16 opponents to 38.1 percent or less from the field.
* Redshirt freshman Jalen McDaniels is one of 24 freshmen nationally to average 8.5 points, six rebounds and shoot 50 percent or better from the field, and among those 24 players, he has the fewest turnovers per game (0.6). In his last nine games, he is averaging 11.9 points and 7.6 rebounds, and is 41-of-60 from the field (68.3 percent). In addition, his inaugural year productivity is reminiscent of legendary Aztec and NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard. See right box
* The Aztecs' freshman class of McDaniels, Matt Mitchell and Jordan Schakel has had a tremendous season and put together a string of impressive performances. The freshman class combined for 35 points and nine rebounds, and was 14-of-22 from the field (63.6 percent) at Boise State. That follows the 31 points and 21 rebounds, while connecting on 11-of-20 field-goal attempts (55.0 percent) in the victory at Colorado State and 26 points, 16 points and five assists in the win over San José State. In conference play, the classmates are averaging 23.5 points, 16.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists. See right box
* Junior Devin Watson has six consecutive double-digit scoring games (13.8) to his credit and is 12-24 from three-point range (50.0 percent) over his last five games. The guard has shot 50 percent or better from the field in four of his last five contests (26-of-48, 54.2 percent) and has 14 assists in his last two games.
* Senior Malik Pope has scored eight or more points in eight consecutive games (14.9 ppg) and is 48-of-88 from the field (54.5 percent) from the floor during that span. He has 35 points in his last two games, which is the second-highest two-game total (he had 36 points on games played on Jan. 28 and 31, 2017) in his 109-game career.
* True freshman Matt Mitchell has nine double-digit scoring games this season and is coming off a 13-point (6-of-11 field goals) performance at Boise State.
* Junior guard Jeremy Hemsley needs just 30 points to become the 32nd member of the SDSU 1,000-point club. Fighting a case of the flu, he did not score in either of the last two games, but still has five assists with just one-turnover in 30 minutes of action in those two games.