SAN DIEGO – San Diego State head men's basketball coach Brian Dutcher, whose team ranked No. 5 in the nation and the only one loss team in Division I men's college basketball, has been named a semifinalist for the Werner Ladder Naismith Coach of the Year Award. The announcement came from the Atlanta Tipoff Club on Friday morning.
Dutcher, in his third season guiding the Aztecs, is one of 10 head coaches included on the list and the only coach in the Mountain West to be considered for the award. From the 10 semifinalists, four will be selected as finalists, with the winner announced at the Naismith Awards Brunch at the Final Four in Atlanta.
San Diego State is 29-1 overall, and won the Mountain West Conference regular-season championship with four games remaining in the season. It is the earliest any program secured its league title this season and the earliest since the 2007-08 Davidson team, which included Steph Curry. The Aztecs put together a 26-game win streak to open the season which was the best start to a Division I season since Gonzaga got off to a 29-0 record in 2016-17. In addition, the team's 15 consecutive wins to open Mountain West action is the best start to league play by any team in Mountain West history and its 17-1 mark in conference play is the best record in Mountain West history.
Dutcher and the Aztecs, the No. 1-seed in the 2020 Air Force Reserve Mountain West Men's Basketball Championship Tournament, play the No. 5-seed Boise State Broncos on Friday, March 6 at 6 p.m. PT in Las Vegas' Thomas & Mack Center. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
Werner Ladder Naismith Coach of the Year Semifinalists
John Calipari, Kentucky
Patrick Chambers, Penn State
Scott Drew, Baylor
Brian Dutcher, San Diego State
Mark Few, Gonzaga
Anthony Grant, Dayton
Leonard Hamilton, Florida State
Greg McDermott, Creighton
Bruce Pearl, Auburn
Mark Pope, BYU