SAN DIEGO – The defense of its Mountain West-record 12th conference title begins on Saturday with San Diego State men's basketball hosting Colorado State, in the first of two games which were postponed from earlier this month.
SCENE SETTER
The record 12-time Mountain West Conference champions begin defense of its 2019-20 regular-season title on Saturday when San Diego State plays host to Colorado State.
The game will be televised nationally by CBS, marking the first home appearance on an over-the-air network since Feb. 26, 2011, when the 6th-ranked Aztecs played host to No. 7 Brigham Young (aka the Kawhi Leonard-Jimmer Fredette game).
San Diego State has won the last five meetings with Colorado State (all of which have occurred with Brian Dutcher as head coach). The Aztecs are 17-3 against the Rams in Viejas Arena (CSU victories in 2000, 2003 and 2017).
Matt Mitchell has averaged 12.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and has connected on 9-of-20 three-point field goals (45.0 percent) in his five career games against the Rams (5-0). Last season, he had 18 points and eight rebounds in the win in Fort Collins and 15 points and a team-high eight rebounds in the victory in San Diego.
The Aztecs reentered the Coaches Poll this week at No. 23. The Aztecs have been ranked in at least one of the two major polls in three of the six weeks this season. Currently, the Aztecs are the equivalent of No. 27 in the Associated Press poll.
San Diego State's metrics continue to show that it belongs in the top 25. The Aztecs are currently 14th in Sagarin Ratings, 15th in RPI, 19th in Strength of Record, 24th in BPI and 24th in Kenpom.
San Diego State's 6-1 record is particularly impressive when considering the Aztecs six Division I opponents are a combined 34-13 (when factoring out 1-5 against San Diego State). All six Aztec Division I opponents own a .500 or better record when factoring out the game against SDSU.
San Diego State ranks among the national leaders in several categories including: 13th in scoring defense* (58.0), 17th in Kenpom adjusted defensive efficiency* (90.6), 26th in field goal percentage defense (37.7), 33rd in turnover margin (+4.6), 37th in steals per game* (8.9) and 42nd in turnover per game (11.6). * - indicates leads Mountain West Conference in category
San Diego State responded from its lone loss of the season by handing an 8-1 Saint Mary's team a 74-49 defeat in a neutral site game in San Luis Obispo, Calif. The Aztecs raced out to a 32-10 lead and joins Gonzaga as the only programs to defeat Saint Mary's by 25 or more points in the last 21 seasons.
Junior forward Nathan Mensah produced the best game of his career, leading the Aztecs with a career-high 18 points, 13 rebounds and a career-high six blocked shots (one off the school record). It was the fifth career double-double for Mensah, who has two double-doubles in his last three games (also at No. 23 Arizona State). He became the first Aztec player in at least 25 seasons to produce a game with at least 18 points, 13 rebounds and six blocked shots. He is one of just two players to do it in Division I basketball this season (also: Charles Bassey, Western Kentucky).
How hard is it to produce an 18-point, 13 rebound and six-block game? If we reduce the minimum numbers in those categories to 15-10-4, only five other Aztec players have done it (each one time) in the last 25 seasons. That list is Randy Holcomb, Jan. 21, 2002 (17-12-4), Marcus Slaughter, Jan. 14, 2006 (20-20-5), Jerome Habel, Feb. 20, 2007 (18-12-4), Billy White, Jan. 29, 2008 (17-10-4) and Malcolm Thomas, Dec. 13, 2010 (18-15-5).
Senior guard Terrell Gomez matched his Aztec high with 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc against the Saint Mary's. One of the nation's premier shooters, Gomez has 305 career three-point field goals (third among all active Division I players), 43.5 percent from beyond the arc (eighth among active qualified players) with 1,691 points (11th among active Division I players).
San Diego State shot a season-high 55.8 percent from the field (after shooting a season low 36.8 percent against Brigham Young) against Saint Mary's. The Aztecs are 31-1 under Brian Dutcher with 19 straight wins when shooting 50 percent or better from the field.
The Aztecs held Saint Mary's to 31.0 percent from the field. It was their lowest field goal percentage since a 29.0 percent effort on Nov. 19, 2018. The Aztecs have won 30 straight games when holding the opposition to 40 percent or less.
Aztecs Set to Open MW Campaign Against Colorado State
