SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State men's basketball, one of two remaining undefeated teams in the nation, climbed six spots in this week's Associated Press' Top-25 Poll and improved five spots in the USA Today Coaches Poll to be ranked No. 7 in each national poll, which was published on Jan. 6.
SDSU is ranked for the fifth consecutive week this season. After initially appearing in the No. 25 spot in the AP Poll on Dec. 9, the Aztecs climbed to No. 20, No. 15, No. 13 and now into the top-10 with a No. 7 ranking in successive weeks. San Diego State's six spot jump in the AP Poll equals the program's third largest in a week. It matches a six-position move on Jan. 16, 2012 (No. 22-to-No. 16) and Dec. 3, 2012 (No. 23-to-No. 17) and trails the seven position moves on Nov. 22, 2010 (No. 25-to-No. 18) and Jan. 6, 2014 (No. 21-to-No. 13).
The five-spot move up the Coaches Poll, equals that of Dec. 13, 2013 (No. 15-to-No. 10) and trails by one position the largest in program history. San Diego State's largest jumps up the poll, six places, have come on Jan. 16, 2012 (No. 22-to-No. 16), Dec. 3, 2012 (No. 21-to-No. 15) and two weeks ago, on Dec. 23, (No. 20-to-No. 14).
San Diego State's No. 7 ranking in the AP Top-25 Poll is the program's highest since March 10, 2014 when it was No. 8. The Aztecs are ranked 7th for the fifth time in school history, last appearing in that spot Jan. 20, 2014. SDSU's No. 7 ranking in both polls mark the fifth time in program history it has been appeared at that spot in the same week.
Today's poll ranking, released on Jan. 6, marks the fifth time that SDSU has appeared in the AP Top-25 on this date and it is the second highest ranking for the program on this date.
Jan. 6, 2011 No. 6 (NCAA Tournament Sweet-16 appearance w/ Kawhi Leonard)
Jan. 6, 2012 No. 24
Jan. 6, 2013 No. 19
Jan. 6, 2014 No. 13 (NCAA Tournament Sweet-16 appearance)
Overall, this marks the 71st week the program has been ranked in the AP Top-25 and all have come since the start of the 2010-11 season. Those 71 weeks are the 23rd most for any school in the nation in that time frame; ahead of Maryland and Oregon (64 weeks), Indiana (62 weeks) and UCLA (44 weeks). The program's No. 7 ranking marks the 22nd time it has appeared in the AP Top-10.
The Aztecs 15-0 start is currently the longest winning streak in the nation and three-quarters of the way to the program record for wins to open a season without a loss, which the 2010-11 team achieved at 20-0. That team won the Mountain West regular-season and tournament championships and reached the Sweet-16 of the NCAA Tournament. In addition to opening the 2010-11 season winning 20 straight, San Diego State also had a 20-game win streak during the 2013-14 season, both are the longest in program history.
In addition, the latest NET (NCAA Evaluation Tool), which replaced RPI this year as the primary sorting tool for evaluating teams during the Division I men's basketball season, ranks the Aztecs No. 1 in the nation. It is the 16th straight day San Diego State has held the No. 1 spot and the 17th day this season the team has been in the top slot. NET relies on game results, strength of schedule, game location, scoring margin, net offensive and defensive efficiency, and the quality of wins and losses to create its rankings.
SDSU continues Mountain West play this week on Wednesday and Saturday. Wednesday night the Aztecs are at Wyoming and on Saturday Boise State visits Steve Fisher Court at Viejas Arena. Tip-off for each game are set for 7 p.m. MT and 7 p.m. PT, respectively. To purchase tickets for the Boise State game and the rest of the home schedule log onto GoAztecs.com, visit the Aztec Ticket Office at Window E at SDCCU Stadium or call (619) 283-7378.
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Men’s Hoops Climb To No. 7/7 In Polls
