SAN DIEGO - Riding a three-game winning streak in Mountain West play, the San Diego State men's basketball team makes its first conference road trip when it travels to Logan, Utah to face off with the Utah State Aggies on Thursday and Saturday.
SCENE SETTER
San Diego State, owner of the nation's longest road win streak (13 games) opens a four-game road stretch against a Utah State team that has won eight straight games overall (T-10th longest active streak in the nation) and is 26-2 at home since Jan. 19, 2019.
The teams will play a two-game series, beginning on Thursday with a 7 p.m. MT (6 p.m. PT) on CBS Sports Network followed by a Saturday contest at 11:30 a.m. MT (10:30 a.m. PT) on CBS.
The game features the two teams that met for the Mountain West Conference tournament title last season. The Aggies avenged two regular season losses to the Aztecs and claimed a 59-56 decision at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. San Diego State, which won the regular season title by a record five games, suffered just its second loss of the season. SDSU ended the campaign 30-2.
This is the 20th meeting between the teams, with the Aztecs owning a 13-6 series lead. San Diego State is 4-2 at the Dee Glen Smith Center, with victories in 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2020. Last season in Logan, Matt Mitchell scored 19 points and added seven rebounds and Jordan Schakel had 11 points on the strength of three treys as the Aztecs claimed a 77-68 victory on Jan. 4, 2020. Malachi Flynn, currently with the Toronto Raptors, scored 22 points in the game.
On game day, San Diego State will have gone a remarkable 677 days since it last suffered a road loss (at No. 17 Nevada on Mar. 9, 2019). All 13 victories in the road winning streak have come by more than one possession (at least four points), seven have been by at least 12 points and the average margin of victory has been 13.4 points.
This marks the first time San Diego State has played four consecutive game (not neutral games, true road games) for the first time since March 1-13, 2003.
The Aztecs are currently 10th in RPI, 22nd in Sagarin Ratings, 29th in BPI, 34th in the NET, 36th in Strength of Record and 37th in Kenpom.
San Diego State's 9-2 record is particularly impressive when considering the Aztecs' Division I opponents are a combined 70-25, 73.7 percent (when factoring out 2-8 against San Diego State). All 10 Aztec Division I games are against teams that 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: 14th in scoring defense (60.7), 30th in Kenpom adjusted defensive efficiency (92.4), 34th in field goal percentage defense (39.1), 42nd in three-point field goal percentage (37.7), 50th in three-point field goals per game (9.1), 55th in scoring margin (+11.4), 56th in turnover margin (+3.1), 61st in turnover per game (11.9) and 67th in steals per game (7.9).
San Diego State student-athletes are atop the following Mountain West Conference stat categories: Matt Mitchell - free throws made (64), free throw attempts (78), Trey Pulliam - assist-to-turnover ratio (2.57) and Jordan Schakel - three-point field goal percentage (43.7).
San Diego State concluded a stretch of four games in eight days with its third consecutive win, a 69-67 victory over Nevada to complete the season sweep. Senior guard Trey Pulliam drove the length of the floor and hit a running floater as time expired to give the Aztecs the walk-off victory.
Pulliam's walk-off game winner was the first for the Aztecs in Viejas Arena history and marked the first for the Aztecs since Jamaal Franklin nailed a three-point basket to defeat Boise State on March 8, 2012.
Pulliam now has 17 points, five rebounds and four assists in San Diego State's last two games. He has connected on 7-of-15 field goal attempts (46.7 percent), including 6-of-10 from inside the arc (60.0 percent).
Senior forward Matt Mitchell scored 20 points in both games against Nevada. Mitchell has consecutive games with at least 20 points for the second time in his 110-game career. The senior, who has reached double figures in all 11 games this season, is 20-of-21 from the free throw line in the last two games. He leads the Mountain West Conference in free throws made (64) and attempted (78).
Junior forward Nathan Mensah has scored in double figures in three consecutive games for the first time in his 58-game career. In his last three games, Mensah has 42 points, 21 rebounds and three blocked shots on 15-of-24 (62.5 percent) from the field. Mensah, who has a blocked shot in nine consecutive games, has 15 double-digit scoring games in his career and the Aztecs are 14-1 in those contests.
San Diego State's 9-2 record after 11 games is its second best start in the last seven seasons. The Aztecs started 26-0 last season.
Aztecs Head to Utah State For First MW Road Trip
