Need to Know:
- San Diego State, owners of a Mountain West-best 11 men's basketball championships, begins its quest to defend its conference tournament championship when the fourth-seeded Aztecs play at fifth-seeded UNLV in the second quarterfinal game Thursday.
- The Aztecs-Runnin' Rebel 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 a record five times (2002, 2006, 2010, 2011 and 2018).
- Amazingly, San Diego State has played for the tournament title in four of the last five years and in eight of the last 10 seasons (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2018).
- This game features a matchup of the two teams with the highest Mountain West tournament winning percentage. San Diego State is first with a 30-14 record (68.2 percent), despite a breakdown of 0 home, 9 road and 35 neutral games). UNLV is second with a 27-15 record (64.3 percent), with a breakdown of 35 home, 0 road and 7 neutral games).
- The Aztecs are 14-5 in the quarterfinal round of the event and have won their last 11 quarterfinal games.
- This is the fifth time SDSU has earned the four seed in the event. The Aztecs own a 7-3 record when in the four position, including the 2010 season when they won their third MW tournament championship.
- San Diego State has won the event as the one seed, two seed, four seed and five seed (twice).
- The Aztecs and Rebels will meet for the 72nd time in series history with the Rebels owning a 36-35 series lead. The Aztecs once trailed the series, 26-6, (SDSU is 29-10 since that time).
- The Aztecs have defeated the Runnin' Rebels seven straight times at the MW Championship. The last six have taken place on the Thomas & Mack Center floor, including the 2010 title game, and the 2011 and 2014 semifinal games.
- Since the start of the 2008-09 season, no Division I team in the country has defeated another Division I team more often that SDSU has defeated UNLV (13).
- San Diego State has won 14 of the last 15 games played between the teams (regardless of location, +11.5 scoring margin).
- Brian Dutcher has been on the SDSU sidelines for 31 of SDSU's 35 victories in the series. Those 31 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).
- Since the start of the 2008-09 season, no team has won more games in a building the NCAA does not consider its home venue than the Aztecs 26 victories in Thomas & Mack Center. Villanova is second with 25 wins at Madison Square Garden (see chart, bottom page one).
- The Aztecs are 8-1 vs. UNLV in the Thomas & Mack Center since March 5, 2014. That is the most victories by a visiting team vs. the Rebels during that span (Nevada is second with five).
- Since Jan. 1, 2013, San Diego State owns a 15-6 record against the Rebels at the Thomas & Mack Center. The rest of the country is 53-196 at UNLV.
- The Aztecs have handed the Runnin' Rebels eight of their last 34 home losses (23.5 percent).