Men's Basketball

Aztecs welcome No. 6/6 Nevada on Wednesday

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Aztecs welcome No. 6/6 Nevada on WednesdayAztecs welcome No. 6/6 Nevada on Wednesday

News Conference Video w/ Brian Dutcher and senior guard Jeremy Hemsley and sophomore forward Matt Mitchell  (Monday)
News Conference Quotes
Men's Basketball Gameday Central
2018-19 San Diego State Media Guide

Need to Know:

  • Wednesday's game is a blackout. The team will wear black uniforms and fans are encouraged to wear black.
  • Winners of six of its last seven games, San Diego State begins a challenging stretch with the first of two regular-season meetings with No. 6/6 Nevada. Game time at Viejas Arena is set for 8 p.m. PT.
  • The upcoming stretch includes games against Nevada (24-1), at UNLV (winners of two straight, three of four and five of their last seven at home) on Saturday and at Utah State (winners of nine of their last 10 games overall (lone loss during that stretch to SDSU) and 11-1 at home this year) on Feb. 26.
  • In the Brian Dutcher era, San Diego State owns a 3-3 record against teams ranked in the AP Top 25 at the time of the game. Since the beginning of the 2017-18 season, that is tied for the nation's 16th best record (minimum six games against AP Top 25 teams). SDSU is tied with Arizona, Gonzaga, Tennessee and Virginia Tech.
  • San Diego State is 2-0 under Brian Dutcher in home games against AP Top 25 teams and the Aztecs have won seven of their last nine games against nationally-ranked teams at Viejas Arena.
  • At No. 6, Nevada is the highest opponent the Aztecs have played host to since No. 2 Kansas played SDSU on Dec. 22, 2015. It is the highest rated conference foe the Aztecs have played at home since facing No. 6 Utah on Feb. 12, 1981 at the Sports Arena.
  • Since Jan. 26, 2019, only five teams in the nation have won more games than San Diego State's six (Belmont, Duke, New Mexico State, Saint Francis and Wofford).
  • SDSU carries a 12-game homecourt win streak against Mountain West opponents into the game. The streak is the longest in the Mountain West and tied for the ninth longest among all Division I schools (see chart to the right).
  • During the 12-game conference home streak, the Aztecs have outscored the opposition by 204 points, shooting 49.7 percent from the field and 39.0 percent from three-point range (see chart below).
  • San Diego State and Nevada are meeting for the 21st time with the Aztecs owning a 15-5 series advantage. The Aztecs have won the last two meetings and 10 of the last 12.
  • San Diego State has handed Nevada two of its last four losses and five of its last 23 defeats. Since Feb. 12, 2017, SDSU is 3-1 against Nevada while the rest of the country is a combined 8-61.
  • Although San Diego State has defeated 32 AP nationally-ranked teams at the time of the game in school history, including five top 10 teams and three teams ranked No. 7 at the time of the game, the Aztecs have never defeated a team ranked in the AP top six at game time (0-20).
  • The Aztecs claimed their sixth victory in seven outings (four of those coming by double figures) with a 71-65 home victory over Boise State.
  • Senior guard Devin Watson led the Aztecs in scoring for the third straight game and the fifth time in the last six outings with 19 points, while adding six rebounds and two assists. Watson connected in 3-of-6 shots from beyond the arc.
  • In his last nine games, Watson is averaging 18.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.9 assists and has connected on 25-of-57 (43.9 percent) three-point field goal attempts.
  • Senior guard Watson now has 13 or more points in nine consecutive games (17.4 ppg), his longest such streak since a nine-game run while he was at USF from Dec. 21, 2015-Jan. 28, 2016.
  • Sophomore forward Jalen McDaniels posted 18 points and seven rebounds in the victory over the Broncos. McDaniels extended his personal best double-figure scoring streak to 14 games.
  • Since Dec. 29, 2018 (which includes 14 games), McDaniels is averaging 19.7 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists, while shooting 52.8 percent from the field. He is the one of only four players in the nation that is averaging those numbers and is shooting at least 50 percent from the field during that time frame.
  • In his last eight games, senior guard Jeremy Hemsley is averaging 10.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocked shots. He has connected on 50.9 percent of his field goal attempts. On Saturday he moved into ninth place on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,311 points.
  • True freshman Nathan Mensah recorded his first career double-double in the victory over Utah State with 10 points and 10 rebounds. He joined Kawhi Leonard as the only Aztec freshmen in the last 23 seasons to have at least 10 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and three blocked shots in the same game.
  • SDSU's defense continues to improve at a dramatic rate. The Aztecs, who earlier this season allowed four opponents in a six-game stretch to shoot above 50 percent, rank among the top of the conference in several defensive categories since Jan. 8, including 2nd in opponent field goal percentage (.412), point allowed (64.9) and two-point percentage (.455), and 3rd in turnovers (13.6).