March 6, 2018
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU Men's Basketball Game Notes | SDSU Broadcast Flip Card
NEWS AND NOTES (Through games of Sunday, March 4)
* San Diego State, owners of a Mountain West-best 10 men's basketball championships, begins its quest for its first tournament title since 2011 on Thursday when the fifth-seeded Aztecs play fourth-seeded Fresno State in the second quarterfinal game.
* The Aztecs-Bulldogs game will be broadcast nationally by CBS Sports Network and the contest can be heard on 101.5 KGB, XTRA Sports 1360 and FOX Sports IE 1350.
* San Diego State has won the 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 of the last four years and in seven of the last nine seasons (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2016).
* San Diego State owns the highest winning percentage in Mountain West tournament history. The Aztecs own a 27-14 record (.659, with four titles).
* The Aztecs are 13-5 in the quarterfinal round of the event and have won their last 10 quarterfinal games.
* This is the third time SDSU has earned the five seed in the event. The Aztecs own a 3-1 record when in the five position, including the 2002 season when the Aztecs won their first MW tournament championship.
* San Diego State ended the regular season by winning its final six games (by an average of 14.0 ppg). The Aztecs own the longest active win streak in the Mountain West and are currently tied for the 14th-longest win streak nationally.
* The six-game win streak entering the conference tournament is SDSU's longest in the Mountain West era and longest since winning the final six games of the 1977-78 campaign when the Aztecs called the PCAA home.
* Two San Diego State players earned accolades in the coaches and media all-conference selections released earlier this week. Senior forward Malik Pope was named a second-team all-conference selection by the coaches and an honorable mention member by the media. Meanwhile, freshman forward Jalen McDaniels was named a third-team all-conference selection by the coaches and an honorable mention pick by the media.
* As an example of the dominance SDSU has been playing with of late, SDSU student-athletes have earned two of the last three Mountain West Player-of-the Week honors. On Monday, senior guard Trey Kell earned the award after averaging 12.5 points, 6.5 assists and 4.0 rebounds in victories over Boise State and No. 21/21 Nevada. Two weeks earlier, McDaniels was honored by the conference.
* In its most recent outing, San Diego State ran its "Senior Day" win streak to 13 games (fourth-longest active streak nationally), with a 79-74 victory over No. 21/21 Nevada. The Aztecs scored the final 12 points of the first half and never trailed after intermission.
* Freshmen had led San Diego State in scoring the previous four games (for only the second time in the last 10 seasons) prior to Kell pacing the Aztecs with 17 points and nine assists (just one turnover) in the victory over Nevada. He became the first Aztec in the Mountain West era (since 1999-00 season) to post a 17-point, 9-assist game.
* Pope had a big game against the Wolf Pack, with 16 points, five rebounds and four assists. The senior also connected on 7-of-11 shots from the floor. Pope reached double digits for the fifth straight game he has played in and for the 49th time in his career.
* Senior Kameron Rooks had his best game of the season on Saturday with a season-high 12 points on 6-of-6 shooting from the field, six rebounds and three blocked shots. He is just the second Aztec player in the Brian Dutcher/Steve Fisher era to make at least six field goals without a miss, grab six rebounds and block three shots in a game (Billy White vs. Wyoming on Feb. 14, 2009).
* San Diego State is 16-2 this season when owning an advantage in FG percentage,14-1 when attempting more free throws and 13-2 when committing fewer turnovers.
* In its last nine victories, San Diego State has outscored the opposition by 170 points (18.8 points per game).