SAN DIEGO – Brian Dutcher, third year head coach of the San Diego State Aztec men's basketball team, was named USA Today Sports' national Coach of the Year Monday morning and junior guard Malachi Flynn earned three All-American honors, including the program's first Division I first-team All-American designation.
Dutcher led the 2019-20 Aztecs to the best regular-season record in program history (28-1), the Mountain West regular-season championship and the No. 1 seed in the Mountain West Tournament. With 17 league victories, San Diego State set a school and Mountain West Conference record for most conference triumphs in a campaign. San Diego State's 94.4 percent winning percentage (17-1) in league games is the highest ever for a Mountain West Conference team, eclipsing Utah's 13-1 mark (92.8 percent) in 2004-05. Under Dutcher's guidance, SDSU was the last unbeaten team in the nation for more than a month, from Jan. 15 to Feb. 22, and finished the year one of three teams in men's Division I hoops with two losses, and was the first program to 30 victories this season.
The Aztecs were the first team to clinch its conference's regular-season title and the first, since the 2007-08 Davidson team of Steph Curry, to do so with four games remaining in the season. In addition, the squad was 16-1 in road/neutral games this year, was the only team with just one loss in a road/neutral game this season and are 10-1 in NET Quadrant 1 and Quadrant 2 games. Remarkably, 10 of those 11 games came either on the road or on a neutral court. Dutcher has already been named the Mountain West Coach of the Year by the league's media members and its coaches in separate votes and the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) District IX Coach of the Year.
Dutcher joins his predecessor, Steve Fisher, as the only coach in the program's Division I era to earn national Coach of the Year honors. Fisher was recognized following the 2011 season by three bodies, the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Naismith College Coach of the Year, National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and the Adolph Rupp Cup.
Over the past few days, Flynn has been recognized by three outlets with All-American honors, including first-team designation from Sports Illustrated. He is the first player in San Diego State men's basketball's Division I era (since the 1970-71 season) to be named a first-team All-American. In addition, USA Today Sports and CBS Sports have bestowed second-team honors on Flynn.
A native of Tacoma, Wash., Flynn finished the regular season averaging 17.6 points, 5.1 assists and 4.4 rebounds while shooting 44.7 percent from the floor, 37.2 percent from long range and 85.7 percent from the line. In league games, he was even more impressive. His scoring average went up to 18.9 points on 45.3 percent shooting including 34.7 percent from distance and 91.7 percent from the charity stripe. Earning starting assignments in all 32 games this season, the junior scored in double figures 31 times, led the team the team in scoring and assists 21 times.
On a national basis, Flynn finished the year ranked No. 14 in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.86:1), No. 43 in assists (163) and free throw percentage, No. 48 in steals (56), No. 50 in assists per game, No. 76 in total points (564), No. 79 in steals per game, No. 93 in points per game and No. 95 in three-point field goals made (76) among others.
In the team's regular season finale, an 83-76 win at Nevada, Flynn poured in 36 points which are the most by an Aztec player since Brandon Heath tallied 37 against UNLV on Jan. 15, 2005 and he is just the eighth player in college basketball this season to produce a stat line of 36 points, five rebounds and five assists and the first from a Mountain West Conference team. His 36 points are the second most by an Aztec player this century. He earned two Mountain West Player of the Week honor this season.
In addition, he is a USBWA All-District IX performer and a Sporting News Midseason second-team All-American, as well as on the watch lists for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year, Lute Olson National Player of the Year and John R. Wooden Award. He was named the tournament MVP of both the Continental Tires Las Vegas Invitational and the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic. In separate votes by the league's coaches and media members, Flynn was named the Mountain West Player of the Year. He was also named the conference Defensive Player of the Year (coaches), its Newcomer of the Year (media) and a first-team All-Mountain West performer by both bodies.
FINAL USA TODAY COACHES POLL
Also, on Monday, the USA Today announced its final Top-25 Coaches Poll of the year with the Aztecs remaining at No. 6 for the second straight week. San Diego State's final ranking in the poll is the program's highest. The Aztecs' spent 15 straight weeks ranked in the USA Today Coaches Poll this year, which equals the second longest stretch of consecutive weeks ranked in the poll; matching the 2013-14 team and trailing only the 17 straight weeks the 2010-11 team spent in the poll. The Associated Press will announce its final rankings on Wednesday.