SAN DIEGO – The No. 15 San Diego State men's basketball team, with a perfect 12-0 record including 10-0 in non-conference matchups, host the Cal Poly Mustangs (2-10) in the team's final game outside Mountain West play on Saturday afternoon in Viejas Arena. A victory will give SDSU its fourth undefeated regular-season non-conference record in program history and its second in the last 89 seasons.
NEWS AND NOTES (through games of Dec. 26)
-San Diego State looks to complete a perfect regular-season non-conference slate for just the second time in the last 89 seasons when the Aztecs play host to Cal Poly on Saturday afternoon at Viejas Arena.
-In the 99-season history of San Diego State Basketball, only three times have the Aztecs posted a perfect non-conference regular season - 1926-27 (4-0), 1930-31 (3-0) and 2010-11 (15-0).
-The No. 15/14 (AP/coaches) Aztecs jumped five positions in the AP Top 25 Poll for a second consecutive week.
-San Diego State, which is nationally-ranked for the 69th week in school history (all since the beginning of the 2010-11 campaign), is at its highest position in the poll since being ranked No. 13 on Dec. 1, 2014.
-San Diego State is currently one of three unbeaten teams nationally. In addition to the Aztecs, that list includes, Auburn (11-0, vs. Lipscomb, Sun.) and Liberty (14-0, at LSU, Sun.).
-San Diego State's current 12-game win streak is the fourth-longest in school history. Overall, the Aztecs have enjoyed six win-streaks of at least 11 games, with five of those coming with Brian Dutcher on the sidelines (four as an assistant coach).
-This is the Aztecs longest win streak since a school-record tying 20-game win streak during the 2013-14 campaign (that team posted a 31-5 record and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16).
-San Diego State's metrics continue to pace at an elite level. The Aztecs are currently 1st in NET (the last time San Diego State was not at the top of this chart was Dec. 21),1st in strength of record, 6th in RPI, 6th in Sagarin, 12th in BPI, and 18th in KenPom.
-Through Dec. 26, San Diego State's 3-0 record in NCAA NET Quadrant 1 games was the second best in the nation, trailing only Duke (4-0). No other team with at least three Quadrant 1 games was undefeated in the category.
-With the fast start, San Diego State finds itself ranked among the nation's elite in several statistical categories, including 2nd in scoring margin (+20.8), 2nd in three-point field goal percentage differential (+13.7), 5th in scoring defense (56.3), 6th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.50), 10th in three-point field goal defense (26.3), 10th in field goal percentage defense (36.3), 11th in field goal percentage differential (+10.1) and 14th in three-point field goal percentage (39.9).
-San Diego State improved to 12-0 last Saturday with a 28-point neutral court victory over Utah (9-3, which defeated then No. 6 Kentucky three days earlier) at STAPLES Center in Los Angles. The Aztecs never trailed and led the final 35:19 of the contest by at least eight points. The Aztecs held the Utes to just 31.3 percent shooting from the field and had advantages in rebounds (37-29) and turnovers forced (17-9) in defeating Utah for the seventh time in the last eight outings.
-Junior guard Malachi Flynn scored 16 points and added eight assists with no turnovers, while senior forward Yanni Wetzell and sophomore forward Nathan Mensah both chipped in 14 points.
-San Diego State has four players averaging in double figures (10.5 points or more) and six players averaging 7.2 points or more. Six Aztec players have scored 13 or more points in a game this season.
-Junior guard Malachi Flynn has been one of the best players in the nation through the opening two months of the season. A transfer from Washington State, Flynn leads the Aztecs in scoring (15.6), assists (5.3) and steals (1.5). He is one of just 23 players in the nation to average 15 and five and when you add his assist-to-turnover ratio (3.76, 6th nationally), he is the only player in the nation to average 15 points, five rebounds and have an A/TO ratio of 3.20 or better.
-Despite coming off the bench, junior forward Matt Mitchell is second in the team in scoring (11.1) and is third on the team in rebounding (4.6), while shooting 40.5 percent from three-point range. He is averaging career bests in all three of those categories.
-Senior Yanni Wetzell has reached double figures in seven of his last nine games after doing so nine times all of last season at Vanderbilt. The transfer is averaging 11.1 points and 5.9 rebounds (second on the team), while shooting 59.8 percent from the field. In his last nine games he is averaging 12.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and has made 47-of-72 field goal attempts (65.3 percent).
-Junior Jordan Schakel has eight or more points in six straight games (double figure in four of those contests).Not only is reaching double figures good for Schakel, it has proven good for the Aztecs. When Schakel scores 10 or more points in his career, SDSU is 15-2 with eight straight victories. The Aztecs are 11-0 at Viejas when the sharp shooter reaches double figures. The sharpshooter has made 28-of-58 attempts from bonus distance (48.3 percent) this season to rank 17th nationally among players with at least 25 makes.
No. 15 Aztecs Wrap Up Non-Conference Play on Saturday
