SAN DIEGO – The preparation is nearly done and the No. 5-ranked San Diego State men's basketball team's quest for the 2020 Air Force Reserve Mountain West Men's Basketball Championship gets underway on Thursday, March 5 at 11:30 a.m. PT at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas. The No. 1-seed Aztecs will play the winner of the opening round game between No. 8 Fresno State and No. 9 Air Force.
OFF THE TOP (through games of Mar. 2)
-After a historic regular-season which saw the Aztecs post school records for best record (28-1), consecutive wins (26), road record (11-0), road/neutral record (14-0), conference wins (17) and conference record (17-1), top-seeded San Diego State opens play in the 2020 Air Force Reserve Mountain West Conference Championships on Thursday morning at 11:30 a.m. PT against either 8th-seed Fresno State or 9th-seed Air Force.
-San Diego State is the top-seed in the Mountain West tournament for the fifth time in school history (2006, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2020). The Aztecs own a 10-3 record as the top seed with one title (2006). SDSU has advanced to the championship game each of the four previous times it entered the event as a one seed.
-San Diego State clinched its seventh regular-season MW title this season (2006, 2011*, 2012*, 2014, 2015*, 2016 and 2020). and its 12th overall Mountain West championship. * - indicates shared title
-San Diego State has won this event a record five times (2002, 2006, 2010, 2011 and 2018).
-San Diego State has won the event as the one seed, two seed, four seed and five seed (twice).
-Amazingly, San Diego State has played for the tournament title in five of the last six years and in nine of the last 11 seasons (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019).
-The Aztecs are 15-5 in the quarterfinal round of the event and have won their last 12 quarterfinal games.
-San Diego State has opened conference tournament play with a victory in each of its last 12 league tourney appearances. That is the fifth longest active win streak nationally (see below).
-Overall, San Diego State is 32-15 in the Mountain West tournament for a winning percentage of 68.1 percent. That is the highest win percentage and the Aztecs' 32 tournament wins are the most by any team - current or former - in league history. This is particularly impressive because 10 of SDSU's 47 tournament games have been played on the road (8-2 at UNLV), while UNLV has played 36 of 43 games at home.
-San Diego State is ranked No. 5 in the AP Poll this week. The Aztecs are in the AP top 5 for a school-record seventh straight week and has been in the AP top 10 for nine consecutive weeks. This is the highest SDSU has ever been ranked entering the conference tournament.
-San Diego State, which spent 39 days (includes part of days) as the nation's only undefeated team after Auburn loss on Jan. 15, is the only team in the country with only one loss (Dayton and Gonzaga both have two losses).
-San Diego State owns 33 victories in Thomas & Mack Center since the start of the 2008-09 campaign. That is the most victories by any school in any venue in which it has not played a home game in the past 12 seasons. What is particularly impressive is that 15 of those 32 victories came as the road team playing at UNLV.
Winning streaks that are on the line Thursday:
Streak No. School Active DI
Road/Neutral Win Streak 14 record longest active win streak nationally
MW Quarterfinal Round 12 record
SDSU CLIFF NOTES (through games of Mar. 2)
-San Diego State's metrics continue to pace at an elite level. As of Tuesday, The Aztecs are 4th in NET (spent a national-best 45 non-consecutive days at No. 1 this season), 3rd in strength of record, 4th in KenPom, 6th in BPI and 8th in Sagarin.
-The NCAA committee listed San Diego State as the fourth overall seed and placed the Aztecs as the No. 1-seed in the East Region on Feb. 8 when they released the top 16 teams in the nation at that moment in time.
-San Diego State is at No. 5 in the AP Poll this week. Now nationally ranked for a 13th-straight week, the Aztecs have spent a school-record seven consecutive weeks in the top 5 and the last nine weeks in the top 10.
-San Diego State is enjoying its 79th appearance in the AP Top-25 Poll this week (all have occurred since the start of the 2010-11 campaign). Since the start of the '10-11 season, SDSU's 79 weeks in the top 25 are the 21st most nationally.
-San Diego State finds itself ranked among the nation's elite in several statistical categories, including 2nd in scoring margin (+16.2), 2nd in three-point field goal percentage differential (+9.1), 3rd in scoring defense (59.2), 6th in field goal percentage differential (+8.8), 8th in field goal percentage defense (38.3), 12th in three-point field goal defense (28.9), 13th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.36), 14th in three-point field goal percentage (38.0) and 20th in turnovers per game (11.0).
-San Diego State has four players averaging 10.1 points or more and six players averaging 6.9 points or more. Six Aztec players have scored 18 or more points in a game this season.
-San Diego State leads the Mountain West Conference in many team stats, including scoring margin (+16.17), scoring defense (59.17), field goal percentage defense (38.3), turnover margin (+3.21), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.36), and three-point field goal percentage defense (28.9).
-San Diego State is currently ranked 4th in KenPom and has top 11 efficiency ratings on both offense (11th) and defense (7th). The Aztecs join Kansas and Duke as the only teams in the nation that rank in the top 11 of both sides of the ball.
CHAMPIONS (through games of Mar. 2)
-San Diego State won the 2019-20 Mountain West Conference regular-season title by a record five games (the previous record was three games). The Aztecs five-game margin was the largest by any team in any conference this season.
-San Diego State clinched the outright regular-season title on Feb. 11. The Aztecs became the first team in the nation to clinch its regular-season title this season and became the first team in the nation to clinch its outright regular-season title with four games remaining since Steph Curry's Davidson team in 2007-08.
-San Diego State became the fourth team this century to clinch a regular season outright championship with four games to play.
Team Year Conference Gms. Remaining when Clinched Final Record NCAA Result
San Diego State 2019-20 Mountain West 4
Davidson 2007-08 Southern 4 29-7 Elite Eight
Stanford 2003-04 Pac-10 4 30-2 Second Round
Cincinnati 1999-00 Conference USA 4 29-4 Second Round
-San Diego State finished league play with the best Mountain West Conference record in league history.
Rk. Team Season MW Record Pct. Top Scorers
1. San Diego State 2019-20 17-1 .944 Malachi Flynn (17.6), Matt Mitchell (12.4), Yanni Wetzell (11.6)
2. Utah 2004-05 13-1 .929 Andrew Bogut (20.4), Marc Jackson (10.7)
3. San Diego State 2015-16 16-2 .889 Trey Kell (12.6), Jeremy Hemsley (12.0), W. Shepard (11.3)
San Diego State 2013-14 16-2 .889 Xavier Thames (17.6), Winston Shepard (11.6)
-San Diego State's 15-0 conference record was the best start for a Mountain West team in the history of the league.
ROAD (AND NEUTRAL) WARRIORS (through games of Mar. 2)
-San Diego State owns the nation's longest road winning streak (12, dates back to last season) and road/neutral streak (14) in the nation.
-San Diego State is the only team not to drop a road/neutral site game this season (14-0).
-The Aztecs 14 road/neutral road wins are the most in the nation (2nd: Hofstra, Liberty and Vermont have 13).
-San Diego State's 11-0 road record is the best in the nation and its 11 true road wins are tied for the second most in the nation (Vermont 12-3).
-In road/neutral games this season, San Diego State leads the nation in winning percentage (1.000), scoring margin (+15.9), field goal percentage differential (+10.9), and is 3rd in three-point field goal percentage differential (10.3). On offense, the Aztecs are 2nd in field goal percentage (50.7), 2nd in free throw percentage (80.8), 5th in three-point field goal percentage (39.9). While on defense SDSU ranks 5th in scoring (61.3), 22nd in three-point field goal percentage (29.6) and 14th in field goal percentage (39.8).
-San Diego State is 10-0 in NET Quadrant 1 and 2 games. Nine of those 10 games have come away from home.
HOME COOKING (through games of Mar. 2)
-San Diego State ended the season 14-1 with an average scoring margin of +16.0. Of the 15 home games, 12 were decided by at least nine points.
-The Aztecs 13-game homecourt win streak, snapped on Feb. 22, was tied for the eighth-longest in school history and longest since the school-record 29-game win streak from Nov. 20, 2013 and ended Feb. 28, 2015.
-San Diego State is 21-2 in its last 23 home games dating back to Jan. 1, 2019.
-The Aztecs are 22-2 in its 24 Mountain West Conference home games since Jan. 24, 2018.
-San Diego State has never had an undefeated home season as a Division I program. The last time the Aztecs made it through the home portion of the schedule unscathed was 1966-67. That season, San Diego State went 16-0 at home en route to a 24-5 record. In the Division I era, SDSU has ended the home portion of its schedule with a single loss on seven occasions (1977-78, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2019-20).
THE HISTORIC START (through games of Feb. 26)
-San Diego State is the fourth team to open a season 26-0 since the start of the 2010-11 campaign. Of the previous three teams, two made the Final Four.
Best Start To A Season (since 2010-11) Season Wins To Open Season Tournament Result Final Record
1. Kentucky 2014-15 38 Final Four 38-1
2. Wichita State 2013-14 35 Round of 32 35-1
3. Gonzaga 2016-17 29 National Runner-Up 37-2
4. San Diego State 2019-20 26
5. Syracuse 2013-14 25 Round of 32 28-6
-SDSU's 26-game unbeaten streak to open the season was the longest by an NCAA team since Gonzaga started the 2016-17 campaign 29-0 (advanced to the national championship game).
-The final unbeaten team last season (2018-19) was Virginia. The Cavilers opened 16-0 and won the national championship.
-How hard is it to win 26 games in a row? Of the active 353 Division I head coaches, Brian Dutcher has become just the eighth coach with a win streak of at least 26 games.
Active DI Coaches w/26+ Game Win Streak Streak(s)
1. John Calipari, Memphis-Kentucky 38, 27, 26, 26
2. Gregg Marshall, Wichita State 35
3. Mike Krzyzewski, Duke 32
4. Bruce Weber, Illinois 29
Brad Underwood, Stephen F. Austin 29
6. Mark Few, Gonzaga 29
7. Brian Dutcher, San Diego State 26
Tubby Smith, Kentucky 26
-San Diego State's 26-0 record is the best start in school history, eclipsing the 20-0 mark set by the 2010-11 SDSU squad (Kawhi Leonard's sophomore, and final, season with the Aztecs).
PLAYER TIDBITS
National Player of the Year Candidate
Junior guard Malachi Flynn
Mountain West Conference Player of the Year (coaches & media)
Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year (coaches)
Mountain West Conference First-Team (coaches & media)
Mountain West Newcomer of the Year (media)
Overall: 17.6 points, 5.1 assists, 4.4 rebounds, 37.2 3FG pct., 3.02 A/TO
Mountain West: 18.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 2.58 A/TO
Only player in the nation averaging 16 points, 5 assists and has an assist-to-turnover ratio of at least 3:1.
In 10 NET Q1 and Q2 games, he averages 22.1 points, 5.2 assists, 4.2 rebounds, 3.47 A/TO ratio (SDSU is 10-0 in those games).
Made 16-of-30 FGA on shots taken with four seconds or less on the shot clock. His PPP in those situations is 1.353 and ranks 2nd nationally among players with at least 30 possessions.
Scored a career-high 36 points (the most by an Aztec player since Brandon Heath scored 37 at UNLV on Jan. 15, 2005) in the victory Saturday at Nevada. The 36 point-game is the second highest by an Aztec player this century.
19 straight double-figure scoring games and 10+ points in 28-of-29 contests this season.
Last 15 games: 19.5 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 5.1 apg, 46.1 (94-of-204) FG pct., 93.2 (69-of-74) FT pct.
Leads the Mountain West Conference in assists (5.1), steals (1.8) and assist-to-turnover ratio (3.02).
Made 30 consecutive free throw attempts, streak was broken, currently made 75 of last 80 (93.8 pct.).
4th in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (min. 125 assists), 3.04.
25 straight games with a trey.
Made GW three-point shot with 0:00.9 left to defeat San Jose State.
Scored 28 second-half points to lead San Diego State from 16 points down to defeat Iowa.
Scored 15 consecutive San Diego State points in SDSU's 13-point second half rally to win at Nevada.
Junior forward Matt Mitchell
Mountain West Conference First-Team (coaches)
Overall: 12.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.1 steals, 39.8 3FG pct., 86.3 FT pct.
Mountain West: 13.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 50.3 FG pct., 41.2 3FG pct., 89.4 FT pct.
Second on the team in scoring (12.4) and third in rebounds (139).
In 10 NET Q1 and Q2 games, he averages 13.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 52.2 FG pct., 40.5 3FG pct. (SDSU is 10-0 in those games).
Scored in double figures in seven of his last eight games.; Last 8 games: 15.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.4 steals, 54.7 FG pct., 46.7 3FG pct., 90.6 FT pct.
Became the 34th player in program history to reach 1,000-career points with his 22-point effort against New Mexico (2-11-19).
Scored 28 points (second highest output of his career) against Utah State (2-1-20).
He is averaging career-bests points, rebounds, three-point field goal percentage, steals and blocked shots.
Scored 10+ points in 11 of last 13 games and 13 of the last 16 contests.
In 16 games as a starter: 13.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 51.1 FG pct., 41.4 3FG pct.
Senior forward Yanni Wetzell
Mountain West Conference Second-Team (coaches)
Overall: 11.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 59.8 FG pct.
Mountain West: 11.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 59.9 FG pct.
Has 11 or more points in nine of last 14 games; Last 14 games: 12.6 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.6 apg, 61.9 FG pct.
Trying to become the only San Diego State player in the Brian Dutcher/Steve Fisher era to average 11 points and shoot 60+ percent from the field.
Played a majority of his minutes at the five position after the injury to Nathan Mensah (started the season playing mostly at the four).
Double-figures in 10 of his last 15 games.
18-of-27 career double-digit scoring games have come this season.
Was a perfect 7-for-7 from the field and produced 17 points, four rebounds and two assists at Wyoming (1-8-20) (became the fourth Aztec player during the Brian Dutcher/Steve Fisher era to make at least seven field goals in a game without a miss - joining Nathan Mensah, Aerick Sanders and Billy White).
2-time Mountain West Player of the Week (1 of only 3 players this season; also: New Mexico's Joquan Lyle & Nevada's Jalen Harris).
Senior guard KJ Feagin
Mountain West Conference All-Defensive Team (coaches)
Mountain West Conference Honorable Mention (coaches)
Overall: 8.7 points, 3.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 38.2 3FG pct.
Mountain West: 9.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 40.4 3FG pct.
According to Synergy, in the 246 possessions in which the guy he is guarding has ended the possession, he has allowed just 61-of-208 field goal shooting (29.3 percent), and 0.679 points per possession. Among players with at least 240 defensive possessions, his defensive field goal percentage is ninth nationally.
San Diego State leads the Mountain West in most defensive categories, including scoring defense (59.2), field goal percentage defense (38.3) and three-point field goal percentage defense (28.9).
Has 14 or more points in four of the last eight games; last 8 gms.: 11.9 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.8 apg, 44.6 3FG pct.
Has three or more assists in eight of his last 11 games (3.0 apg).
Has 25 treys in his last eight games (25-of-56, 44.6 pct).
Junior guard Jordan Schakel
Overall: 10.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, 45.8 FG pct.,43.4 3FG pct., 92.3 FT pct.
Mountain West: 9.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 39.1 3FG pct., 100.0 FT pct. (23-for-23)
Reached double-figures in five of last six games and nine of the last 11 games.
Has eight or more points in 18 of his last 22 games (double figure in 15 of those contests).
Not only is reaching double figures good for Schakel, it's good for the Aztecs. When Schakel scores 10 or more points in his career, SDSU is 26-3.
The Aztecs are 16-1 at Viejas when the he reaches double figures.
The sharpshooter has made 63-of-145 attempts from bonus distance (43.4 percent). He is 16th nationally in three-point field goal percentage (min. 60 3FG made).