SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State men's basketball team's preseason preparation are complete and the team opens the 2019-20 regular season, the 99th year of Aztec basketball, on Tuesday evening on Steve Fisher Court at Viejas Arena against the Texas Southern Tigers. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m.
NEWS AND NOTES (Entering 2019-20 regular season)
· 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 on Tuesday Nov. 5, with a game against Texas Southern University.
· San Diego State and Texas Southern will meet for the fourth time in school history. The Aztecs defeated the Tigers 79-64 on Dec. 6, 1991, 74-62 on Dec. 3, 2012 and 103-64 on Nov. 14, 2018. Those games were contested in Austin, Texas, in the Texas Longhorn Classic, and twice in Viejas Arena, respectively.
· San Diego State has won 13 straight season-openers against unranked teams, a run dating back to the start of the 2005-06 season. SDSU's last lost to an unranked opponent on opening night came on Nov. 19, 2004, when it came out on the wrong end of a double-overtime 80-72 loss against UC Santa Barbara.
· San Diego State has won six straight season openers and 13 of the last 14 to begin a campaign. The lone blemish came at the start of the 2012-13 season when SDSU fell to No. 9/9 Syracuse on the USS Midway. Taking into account that the Syracuse game was played outdoors, on the flight deck of the USS Midway, the Aztecs have come out victorious in its last 13 season openers played indoors.
· The Aztecs are currently in a nine-game winning streak in season openers that have taken place at home.
· San Diego State prepped for the regular season by winning its 27th consecutive exhibition game with an 86-51 victory over preseason No. 5 ranked UC San Diego last Wednesday at Viejas Arena.
· Senior forward Yanni Wetzell scored on a three-point play to open the game and then saw the Tritons tie it at 3-3 and 6-6. SDSU then went on a 6-0 run and never looked back. The team led by 25 points at the half before cruising to the 35-point victory. Sophomore forward Aguek Arop and senior forward Nolan Narain were the only two scholarship players that did not play in the game.
· 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 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.
· Four Aztecs scored in double figures in the win against the Tritons, but only one was among the starting five, Nathan Mensah. The sophomore forward had 10 points (5-of-8 FG), seven rebounds and a steal. Off the bench freshman forward Keshad Johnson led SDSU with 12 points (3-of-5 FG, 2-of-3 3FG, 4-of-4 FT) in the victory. Matt Mitchell, a junior forward, also totaled 12 points (5-of-8 FG, 2-of-3 3FG) and Joel Mensah, no relationship to Nathan Mensah, finished with 11 points (5-of-6 FG), five rebounds and an assist.
· The class breakdown of San Diego State's 86 points in the UC San Diego game is: 12 by seniors, 35 by juniors, 25 by sophomores and 14 by freshmen.
· The minutes breakdown by class was 40 for the seniors, 85 for the juniors, 52 for the sophomores and 23 by the freshmen.
ABOUT SAN DIEGO STATE
· Dutcher welcomes back two returning starters in junior forward Matt Mitchell and sophomore forward Nathan Mensah. The pair played in all 34 games a year ago with Mitchel starting 33 games, and Mensah receiving the opening nod in each of the final 20 contests. The only other returners who have started a game for SDSU are junior guard Jordan Schakel, who got 16 starting assignments last year, and senior forward Nolan Narain, who made one start in 2017-18.
· Schakel returns as one of the team's top three-point threats. The Torrance, Calif., native ranked second on the team last year in three-point makes (44) and led the team in three-point percentage (.415; min. 40 3-PT FGA), while playing in 28 games (23.3 mpg). Schakel averaged 7.4 points and 3.8 rebounds, and took great care of the ball, committing 15 turnovers in 651 minutes. In two seasons, he has committed just 24 turnovers in 1,106 total minutes (less than one turnover (.086) per 40 minutes played).
· SDSU will replace its leader in scoring average (Devin Watson - 16.0), rebounding average (Jalen McDaniels - 8.3), assists (Watson - 142), steals (Jeremy Hemsley - 38), and minutes (Watson – 1,155) from a season ago.
· SDSU has three Division I transfers on the 2019-20 roster. KJ Feagin (Santa Clara) and Yanni Wetzell (Vanderbilt) are grad transfers who will play immediately and Malachi Flynn (Washington State), who sat out last season due to NCAA Transfer rules, will have two seasons of eligibility, beginning in 2019-20, to compete for the Aztecs.
· San Diego State has lost three starters (Jeremy Hemsley, Jalen McDaniels and Devin Watson) from its 2018-19 squad that reached the championship game of the 2019 MW Tournament. The impact of the loss of trio cannot be underestimated. They provided SDSU with 56.9 percent of its scoring last season (1,389-of-2,437 points), 56.2 percent of its assists (274-of-487), 53.5 percent of its steals (105-of-196) and 39.6 percent of its rebounds (487-of-1,228).
· When the 2019-20 season tips off, the Aztecs will have seven players on its roster who have never played a game in a San Diego State uniform. Guards Malachi Flynn (Washington State) and Caleb Giordano, a junior and sophomore, respectively, utilized redshirt seasons in 2018-19. KJ Feagin (Santa Clara) and Yanni Wetzell (Vanderbilt) are grad transfers with one year of eligibility each. Trey Pulliam is a junior transfer from Navarro College in Texas and Keshad Johnson and Mike Pope are freshman from Oakland and San Diego, Calif., respectively.
· Junior Matt Mitchell and sophomore Nathan Mensah, both forwards, are back for their respective seasons after receiving starting nods throughout the 2018-19 campaign. Mitchell (10.3 ppg, 4.1 rpg) played in all 34 games, starting 33 times, and enters 2019-20 with 65 starting assignments in 67 career games, which is the most on the active roster. Mensah, meanwhile, started the final 20 games of the season and led the team in blocks (39) and field goal percentage (.541), while scoring 5.6 points and ranking second with 5.5 rebounds-per-game.
· SDSU also welcomes back sophomores Adam Seiko (guard), Aguek Arop (forward), and Joel Mensah (forward) as well as senior Nolan Narain (forward). In 2019-20 Seiko averaged 2.2 points and 1.0 rebounds in his initial season on The Mesa. Arop (3.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg), Mensah (1.1 ppg, 1.0 rpg) and Narain (2.9 ppg, 2.2 rpg) will play larger rolls and make larger contributions in 2019-20.
· The Aztecs bring in just one freshman, Kesahd Johnson.The graduate of San Leandro (Calif.) High School was designated a three-star recruit by all of the major recruiting services and was listed by ESPN as one of the top-25 prep players in the state at the time of his signing. In signing with SDSU, he turned down scholarship offers from schools in the Big East, American and Mountain West Conferences. This is the smallest freshman class since Dutcher has been on The Mesa, which dates to the start of the 1999-00 campaign.
OPENERS
San Diego State opens its 99th season of basketball and the 50th at the Division I level on Tuesday against Texas Southern. The Aztecs have been strong in season-opening games:
· In the previous 98 years of basketball at San Diego State, the Aztecs are 65-33 (.663) in season opening games.
· This is the 50th season of Division I basketball at San Diego State and the Aztecs are 30-19 (.612) in Division I season-opening games.
· San Diego State has won its last 14 home openers, regardless of if the game was the season opener.
· The Aztecs have won six consecutive season openers, regardless of location.
NEW RULES FOR 2019-20
With a new season comes some new rules from the NCAA.
· THREE-POINT LINE - has been moved back from 20 feet, 9 inches to the international distance of 22 feet, 13/4 inches.
· SHOT CLOCK RESET - has been reduced from 30 seconds to 20 seconds after a field goal attempt hits the rim and the offensive team rebounds the ball in the front court.
· LIVE-BALL TIMEOUTS - coaches will be allowed to call live-ball timeouts in the last two minutes of the second half and any overtime periods. Previously coaches have not been able to call any live-ball timeouts during the game.
· TECHNICAL FOULS - players will be assessed a technical foul should they use derogatory language about an opponent's race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, gender expression, gender identity, sexual orientation or disability.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
· San Diego State has advanced to the NCAA tournament seven of the last 10 seasons and has a NIT national semifinalist appearance as well during that span. One reason for the success is that Viejas Arena is a very tough place for opponents. Since the start of the 2009-10 campaign, San Diego State has the ninth-highest winning percentage in the country, amassing a 143-20 home record, winning 87.7 percent of its home games during that span.
· With the start of the 2019-20 season, here are a few of the categories to keep an eye on.
· In its last 166 home games, San Diego State has compiled a 146-20 mark, including a 69-9 record against non-conference competition at Viejas Arena.
· Since the start of the 2012-13 campaign, the Aztecs are 98-16 at home, including a 44-8 record in non-conference home contests during that stretch (42-6 against non-top 25 non-conference foes).
· The Aztecs are 36-7 in their last 43 non-conference home games.
PRESEASON MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE POLL
San Diego State has been picked second in the annual Mountain West preseason media poll.
The preseason favorite, according to the media that regularly cover the conference, is Utah State, which shared the 2018-19 regular-season title and won the conference tournament . The Aggies earned 187 points and all 17 first-place votes to finish in front of SDSU, the team Utah State edged in last season's Mountain West championship game, and its 150 points.
New Mexico has been predicted to finish in third place in this year's preseason poll. UNM picked up 141 points to finish ahead of fourth-place Nevada (135 points) and fifth-place Boise State (128). Fresno State (6th; 103 points), UNLV (7th; 89) and Air Force (8th; 76) were the next three teams to fall in line behind the Broncos with Colorado State (9th; 59), Wyoming (10th; 36) and San José State (11th; 17) rounding out the poll.
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. This is the first time in the last six years that the Aztecs haven't received at least one first-place vote.
THE SERIES
· San Diego State holds a 3-0 series advantage against Texas Southern, with a 79-64 win on Dec. 6, 1991, a 74-62 victory on Dec. 3, 2012 and a 103-64 triumph on Nov. 14, 2018.
· Jamaal Franklin had a double-double in the 2012 game with 18 points and 15 rebounds.
· San Diego State's 103 points in the 2018 game was the first time the team had reached triple digits since Nov. 28, 2016 when it scored 100 against Savanah State and it was the third time since the program joined the Mountain West in the 1999-00 season.
· The Aztecs held Texas Southern to just 5-of-26 (19.2 percent) in the meeting in
· In last year's meeting, junior guard Jordan Schakel went to the line a career-high seven times and made each one.
· San Diego State is 9-0 against the current members of the SWAC.
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