Men's Basketball

Men's Hoops hosts San Jose State this Saturday

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Men's Hoops hosts San Jose State this SaturdayMen's Hoops hosts San Jose State this Saturday

SCENE SETTER

  • San Diego State, winners of eight consecutive home games (T-22nd longest active streak nationally) and 13 straight conference home games (T-8th longest active streak nationally), opens a two-game homestand with San José State on Saturday evening.
  • The Aztecs and Spartans are meeting for the 75th time with San Diego State owning a 39-35 advantage. The Aztecs swept the series last season and have won 10 of the last 11 meetings (10-1), and 25 of the last 36 encounters (25-11).
  • SDSU has won the last six games played between the teams in San Diego. The Spartans last victory at SDSU came on Feb. 27, 1997 in a game played at the Sports Arena. SJSU is 0-6 in games played at Viejas Arena.
  • The Aztecs can clinch a first-round bye and advance directly to the quarterfinal round of the Mountain West Conference tournament with a win or an Air Force loss.
  • Overall, San Diego State has won eight of its last 10 games (8-2).
  • In its last 58 home conference games (since Jan. 26, 2013), San Diego State is 52-6.
  • During the current 13-game home conference win streak, the Aztecs have outscored their opponents by 212 points (16.3 points per game).
  • This is the 20th season of the Mountain West Conference and only once have the Aztecs gone through league play with a perfect home record (2014). SDSU has an opportunity to do that for a second time if it defeats San José on Saturday and Fresno State on Wednesday.
  • Since Jan. 26, 2019, San Diego State's 8-2 record is tied for the 31st highest winning percentage nationally. That percentage is third in the Mountain West, although the Aztecs have handed both Utah State (9-1) and Nevada (7-1) their lone losses during that span.\
  • 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 (last 14 games), including first in opponent field goal percentage (.407) and points allowed (65.3) and second in two-point percentage (.454) and effective field goal percentage (.479).
  • San Diego State's season-long five-game winning streak and 11-game winning streak against Utah State were snapped Tuesday in Logan as the Aggies posted a 70-54 victory. Despite shooting just 35.2 percent for the game, SDSU trailed by only six points with 13:20 to play.
  • Sophomore guard Jordan Schakel, who had missed six of the previous nine games due to an ankle and Achilles injuries, scored a team-high 15 points (one off his career high). He connected on 3-of-4 attempts from three-point range.
  • Since returning from injury (last three games), Schakel has connected on 8-of-12 attempts (66.7 percent) from three-point range and has scored 30 points.
  • San Diego State senior guard Devin Watson earned Mountain West Player of the Week honors on Monday.
  • Last week, Watson guided SDSU to wins over No. 6 Nevada (highest-ranked team SDSU has defeated in school history) and at UNLV to move into third place in the standings. Watson averaged team-highs in points (14.0), assists (6.0), steals (2.0) and minutes played (37.5). He also averaged 4.5 rebounds in the two wins.
  • In his last 12 games, Watson is averaging 16.7 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists, and has connected on 28-of-72 (38.9 percent) three-point field goal attempts.
  • San Diego State student-athletes have claimed three of the last six Mountain West Player of the Week honors.
  • Since Dec. 29, 2018 (which includes 16 games), McDaniels is averaging 18.2 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists, while shooting 49.6 percent from the field. He is the one of only eight players in the nation that is averaging those numbers.
  • Sophomore forward Matt Mitchell has reached double figures in consecutive games for the first time since late January.  The sophomore has made a three-pointer in four straight games and is averaging 12.0 ppg during that span. 
  • True freshman Nathan Mensah recorded his first career double-double last month 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.
  • Head coach Brian Dutcher has a career record of 13-2 in games played after Feb. 12.