Men's Basketball

Aztecs travel to No. 17/18 Nevada

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Aztecs travel to No. 17/18 NevadaAztecs travel to No. 17/18 Nevada

SCENE SETTER

  • San Diego State concludes regular-season play on Saturday when the Aztecs travel to Reno to face Nevada.
  • San Diego State and Nevada are meeting for the 22nd time with the Aztecs owning a 16-5 series advantage. The Aztecs have won the last three meetings and 10 of the last 13.
  • San Diego State has handed Nevada three of its last six losses and six of its last 25 defeats. Since Feb. 12, 2017, SDSU is 4-1 against Nevada while the rest of the country is a combined 9-64.
  • San Diego State has defeated 33 AP nationally-ranked teams at the time of the game in school history.
  • The Aztecs are 11-10 in their last 21 games against top 25 competition. SDSU is 10-5 in its last 15 games against AP Top 25 teams not ranked in the top 10.
  • Since the start of the 2017-18 campaign, San Diego State's 4-3 record against AP Top 25 teams at the time of the game is the 9th-best record in the nation (top 10 list is located to the right).
  • Since the start of the 2017-18 season, San Diego State's 4-3 record as an unranked team vs. nationally-ranked opponents at game time is tied for the fourth best record nationally (top 5 list is located below on this page).
  • SDSU has defeated Nevada three consecutive times. In each of the games, the Aztecs were unranked and the Wolf Pack was nationally ranked. There are only two current streaks where an unranked team has defeated the same nationally-ranked team at least three straight times (Texas def. North Carolina, four times).
  • San Diego State has won nine of its last 12 games and the Aztecs' nine victories since Jan. 26 is tied for the 26th highest total nationally.
  • San Diego State ends the regular-season campaign with games against Fresno State (20-8) and at No. 17 Nevada (26-3). As of March 5, the combined winning percentage of the Aztecs' opponents in the final two regular-season games was the sixth highest among the 351 Division I teams.
  • 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. In Mountain West games only, SDSU ranks 1st in scoring defense (65.9) and field goal percentage defense (.407), and second in KenPom defensive efficiency (96.4).
  • San Diego State had a nine-game homecourt winning streak and a 14-game conference home win streak snapped in a 76-74 loss to Fresno State on Wednesday. The Aztecs overcame a 15-point first half deficit, built an eight-point lead and led by seven points with 1:58 to play but was unable to secure the win.
  • Senior guard Devin Watson tied for team-high honors with 16 points, three assists and two rebounds. Of his 16 points, 13 were scored after intermission.
  • Sophomore forward Jalen McDaniels tied for the team lead in points (16) and rebounds (7) to go along with two assists.
  • Senior guard Jeremy Hemsley added 15 points, on 6-of-11 field goal attempts, and three assists. After failing to score a point in his previous two games, Hemsley has now scored 30 points in his last two games.
  • Freshman forward Nathan Mensah scored 12 points and added seven rebounds. He now has consecutive double-figure scoring games for the first time in his career.
  • Head coach Brian Dutcher has a career record of 14-3 in games played after Feb. 12.
  • In Mountain West play, the Aztecs rank 1st in points allowed (65.9) and field goal percentage defense (.407), 2nd in rebound margin (+3.1) and 3rd in blocked shots (3.6), free throw percentage (72.4) and offensive rebound percentage (30.0).
  • Since Dec. 29, 2018 (which includes 19 games), Jalen McDaniels is averaging 17.8 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists, while shooting 49.3 percent from the field. He is the one of only 10 players in the nation that is averaging those numbers during that time frame.