SAN DIEGO – In its lone exhibition game prior to the home opener for the 2019-20 season, the San Diego State men's basketball team hosts UC San Diego on Wednesday evening on Steve Fischer Court at Viejas Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Exhibition Game
UC San Diego at San Diego State
Wednesday, October 30 | Steve Fisher Court at Viejas Arena | 7 p.m. PT
Live stats: https://bit.ly/2NqrSvM
News And Notes
• San Diego State enters its 99th season of basketball, its 50th season at the Division I level and the third under the direction of Brian Dutcher with an exhibition against UC San Diego on Oct. 30.
• The Aztecs have faced the Tritons 11 times in the regular season, 10 times with the Aztecs as a Division I program and once (12/5/1969) when both were Division II teams. There has been one meeting in the Sports Arena, the 1969 match-up once in Peterson Gym (11/30/81) and nine times in Viejas Arena (eight when it was named Cox Arena).
• SDSU has won its last 26 exhibition games. In 2018-19, the Aztecs defeated Chaminade, 68-63, in the lone exhibition contest of the season
• Head coach Brian Dutcher begins his third season at the helm after guiding San Diego State to a 21-13 record last year and is 43-24 in his first two seasons. In 2018, he was the only first-year coach to lead his team to the NCAA tournament in 2018 and in 96 previous seasons of Aztec basketball, no head coach had won more games and/or won a conference title in his first year until Dutcher accomplished the feat. In addition, Dutcher is the first Aztecs' men's basketball coach to win 20+ games in each of his first two seasons.
• Dutcher welcomes back two returning starters in junior forward Matt Mitchell (10.3 pts., 4.1 rebs., 1.8 asst. in 2018-19) and sophomore forward Nathan Mensah (5.6 pts., 5.5 rebs., 1.1 blks. in 2019-19). The pair played in all 34 games a year ago with Mitchell starting 33 games and Mensah receiving the opening nod in each of the final 20 games in which he competed.
• The Aztecs were picked to finish in second place in the preseason poll of the Mountain West media. SDSU has finished either first or second in the Mountain West preseason poll in each of the last six years. It is also the 11th time in the 21 seasons the Mountain West has been in existence that San Diego State has been picked first or second in the poll. All 11 times, additionally, have occurred in the last 15 years.
• Malachi Flynn, a junior transfer from Washington State who sat out last season due to NCAA Transfer Rules, was selected the league's Preseason Newcomer of the Year. In his final season at Washington State, Flynn averaged 15.8 points, 4.3 assists, and 3.4 rebounds per game.
• The 2019-20 Aztecs return six of their top nine scorers off a team that posted a 21-13 record and advanced to the championship game of the Mountain West Conference tournament in 2019. San Diego State is one of just nine schools nationally to win at least 19 games each of the last 14 seasons and is one of 29 schools to play in seven of the last 10 NCAA tournaments.
• In addition to the Mountain West media, which predicted the Aztecs would finish in second place, two other publications agreed that San Diego State would finish the regular season in second place - CBS Sports Network and Street & Smith Yearbooks.
• The Aztecs have four players on the roster that stand 6-10 and all are international students. Senior Nolan Narain is from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Graduate transfer Yanni Wetzell comes to The Mesa from Auckland, New Zealand and sophomores Joel and Nathan Mensah, who are not related, are from Korle Gonno and Labadi, Accra, Ghana, respectively.
• SDSU's regular-season opener is Tuesday, Nov. 5, against Texas Southern at 7 p.m. in Viejas Arena. It will be the fourth meeting in the series, with the Aztecs holding a 3-0 lead. The teams faced off last season (11/14/18) with SDSU coming away with a 103-64 victory.
Men’s Hoops Hosts UCSD In Exhibition On Wednesday
