SAN DIEGO – With victories at New Mexico and against Utah State last week, San Diego State men's basketball remained the only unbeaten team in Division I and also remained, for the third consecutive week, the No. 4 ranked team in the Associated Press Top-25 Poll as well as the USA Today Coaches Poll.
SDSU is ranked for the ninth 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, into the top-10 with back-to-back weekly rankings at No. 7 and now three-straight weeks at No. 4. The Aztecs 1,447 points are the most the program has ever garnered, ahead of the 1,422 points the team got in the Jan. 20 poll, and move San Diego State to within 25 points of No. 3 Kansas.
The Aztecs' No. 4 ranking in the AP Poll continues to be the highest in program history and marks the first time it has been ranked this high for at least three successive weeks in a season, having been No. 4 for the previous two weeks. This week also marks the fifth time the team has been No. 4 in the coaches poll, the second time it has done so in a single season (previously on Jan. 24 & Feb. 21, 2011), and the first time it has been achieved this high a ranking for three consecutive weeks. San Diego State's 710 point in the coaches poll are just eight behind No. 3 Kansas (718).
Today's poll ranking, released on Feb. 3, marks the third time that SDSU has appeared in the AP Top-25 on this date and is the highest ranking for the program on this date.
Feb. 3, 2011 No. 7 (NCAA Tournament Sweet-16 appearance w/ Kawhi Leonard)
Feb. 3, 2012 No. 17
Feb. 3, 2014 No. 5 (NCAA Tournament Sweet-16 appearance)
Overall, this marks the 75th week the program has been ranked in the AP Top-25 and all have come since the start of the 2010-11 season. Those 75 weeks are the 23rd most for any school in the nation in that time frame; ahead of Maryland and Oregon (68 weeks), Indiana (62 weeks) and UCLA (44 weeks). This week's No. 4 ranking marks the 26th time the program has appeared in the AP Top-10.
The Aztecs 23-0 start is currently the longest winning streak in the nation and the longest to open a season in program history, passing the 2010-11 team that started 20-0. In addition, the 23-game win streak is also the longest in school history, eclipsing the 2013-14 team's 20-0 mid-season streak. Both those teams won Mountain West regular-season championships, the 2010-11 team won the tournament championship, and each reached the Sweet-16 of the NCAA Tournament.
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. San Diego State has spent the most days at No. 1, 26 in total and 17 in a row from Dec. 22, 2019 to Jan. 7, 2020. 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 Saturday after a bye on Wednesday. Saturday night finds the Aztecs at Air Force for its lone regular-season matchup with the Falcons. The team's next home game will be Tuesday, Feb. 11 against New Mexico with tip scheduled for 8 p.m. To purchase tickets for 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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Aztecs Head Into Bye No. 4/4 In National Polls
