Jan. 25, 2018
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU Men's Basketball Game Notes | SDSU Broadcast Flip Card
NEWS AND NOTES Through games of Wednesday, Jan. 24
* Two teams that have met three times in three of the last four seasons play the first of two scheduled games in the 2017-18 campaign on Saturday when San Diego State travels to UNLV. The game will be televised nationally by CBS Sports Network 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 have posted 11 straight victories over UNLV, which is the longest streak by either team in the series and the longest streak by any team against the Runnin' Rebels in the last 22 seasons.
* San Diego State's seven-game win streak at UNLV is the longest by any Mountain West team over another in league history.
* Saturday marks the 68th all-time meeting between the teams, with UNLV owning a 35-32 series lead. The Aztecs once trailed the series 26-6 (SDSU is 26-9 since that time).
* Brian Dutcher has been on the SDSU sidelines for 28 of SDSU's 32 victories in the series. Those 28 wins have come against eight different UNLV head coaches (Bill Bayno, Max Good, Charlie Spoonhour, Jay Spoonhour, Lon Kruger, Dave Rice, Todd Simon and Marvin Menzies).
* The game features a pair of head coaches that served as assistant coaches for SDSU. Dutcher had several titles, the final being Associate Head Coach/Head Coach In Waiting, from 1999-2017, while UNLV head coach Marvin Menzies was an assistant at SDSU from 1999-2003.
* San Diego State, one of just two teams in the nation to lose three consecutive games by four points or less this season, snapped a three-game losing streak and took out its frustrations with a 97-78 victory over Colorado State on Wednesday night. For the first time in at least 23 years, SDSU had seven players reach double figures in scoring and came within a point of tying the school record for points scored in a Mountain West game. The Aztecs never trailed and led by as many as 27 before settling for the 19-point win.
* Junior forward Max Montana scored a season-high 20 points, connecting on 5-of-9 attempts from beyond the arc. The five three-pointers matched a career high. In his last six games, he is averaging 10.8 points and has connected on 15-of-33 (45.5 percent) from beyond the arc.
* Senior guard Trey Kell, who has been dealing with walking pneumonia of late, added 17 points, five assists and zero turnovers in 26 minutes of action vs. Colorado State. In his last five games, he has 23 assists and seven turnovers. He is 8-0 in his career vs. UNLV (11.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.5 apg).
* Freshman forward Matt Mitchell, reached double figures for the 11th time in the last 16 games, with 15 points, four assists and two rebounds against the Rams. He was 6-for-8 from the field against CSU and is 20-of-33 (60.6 percent) from the floor in his last four games.
* Freshman Jalen McDaniels reached double figures for a seventh straight game. During that span, he is 36-of-51 (70.6 percent) from the field and is averaging 14.1 points. He is averaging 8.4 rebounds over his last 11 games.
* McDaniels is one of seven freshmen nationally (and the only one in the Mountain West) to average 9.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and shoot 60 percent or better from the field, and among those seven players, he has the fewest turnovers per game (0.7). In addition, his inaugural year productivity is reminiscent of legendary Aztec and NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard.
* Senior forward Malik Pope has scored eight or more points in 11 consecutive games (14.1 ppg) and is 61-of-113 from the field (54.0 percent) from the floor during that span. In his career, he is 8-0 against the Runnin' Rebels.
* Junior guard Devin Watson has an SDSU season-high nine-game streak of reaching double digits in scoring (13.4) to his credit and is 16-31 from three-point range (51.6 percent) over his last eight games. The guard has shot 50 percent or better from the field in six of his last eight contests (37-of-74, 50.0 percent) and has 35 assists in his last six games (5.8).
* Junior guard Jeremy Hemsley needs just 14 points to become the 32nd member of the SDSU 1,000-point club. Against the Rams, he was 5-of-6 from the field and ended the game with 11 points, three assists and two rebounds.
* San Diego State has been extremely unfortunate this season. The Aztecs have lost five games in which SDSU had a lead in the final five minutes of the game and is 1-5 in games decided by four points or less.
* San Diego State is 10-2 this season when owning an advantage in field-goal percentage and 10-1 when attempting more free throws.
* The Aztecs' freshman class of McDaniels, Mitchell and Jordan Schakel has had a tremendous season and put together a string of impressive performances. For the season, the trio is averaging 23.1 points, 13.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists. In conference play, the classmates are averaging 26.0 points, 14.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists.