SAN DIEGO – Following its first Quad 1 victory of the season, a 10-point neutral site win over Saint Mary's, the San Diego State men's basketball team returns to Viejas Arena to face UC San Diego on Wednesday night at 6 p.m. PT. The game is scheduled to be shown on Stadium.
OFF THE BOUNCE
Owners of the nation's eighth-best winning percentage in regular season home games since the start of the 2009-10 campaign, San Diego State plays its fourth of four games this season against a Big West Conference opponent, when the Aztecs welcome the UC San Diego Tritons to Steve Fisher Court at Viejas Arena on Wednesday evening.
San Diego State has won 30 straight games against the current makeup of the Big West Conference, including going 3-0 so far this year with victories against UC Riverside (66-53), Long Beach State (72-47) and Cal State Fullerton (66-56).
Since the beginning of the 2009-10 campaign, San Diego State's 175-23 regular season home court record is eighth nationally.
San Diego State continues to be an elite defensive team. Nationally, according to KenPom, the Aztecs are 8th in defensive efficiency, 14th in field goal percentage defense and 26th in 3-point percentage defense. San Diego State has held eight of its 10 opponents to less than 39.3 shooting from the field and denied Long Beach State (11/30) a 3-point field goal on all its 11 attempts.
The last time out, San Diego State defeated Saint Mary's 63-53 in the Jerry Colangelo Classic at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Ariz. The victory snapped a 6-6 tie in the all-time series and was the Aztecs second straight win over the Gaels on a neutral court and SDSU's third straight overall in the series. The win was the team's first over a Quad 1 opponent this year.
In holding Saint Mary's to 36.5 percent shooting, SDSU improved to 47-2 in the last 49 games in which it has held the opposition to 40 percent or less field goal shooting.
San Diego State outrebounded Saint Mary's, 35-33, and has won 24 straight games when owning an advantage in the category.
SDSU is 59-2 the last 61 times it has shot better than its opponent and the Aztecs are 65-3 the last 68 times it has held its opponent to less than 60 points.
Senior guard Trey Pulliam has reached double figure scoring in 7-of-10 games this season, including a game-high 15 points vs. Saint Mary's in the Jerry Colangelo Classic. He won the game's Most Valuable Player in that game adding six assists and a steal to his 15 points. In the last four outings, he has shot 51.3 percent (20-of-39) with 16 assists, 14 rebounds, nine steals and one block. In the three games since his backcourt running mate Lamont Butler went down, he has played 109 of a possible 120 minutes, the most minutes in a three-game stretch in his major college career. He has averaged 12.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.3 steals in those three games.
Senior guard Matt Bradley scored a team high 14 points (5-of-14 FG & 4-of-4 FT) with two rebounds and two assists and two steals. In his last six games he has shot 43.0 percent (34-of-79) from the field and has five double digit scoring games, including back-to-back 22-point efforts at No. 24 Michigan and vs. Cal State Fullerton.
Senior forward Nathan Mensah rejected three shots against Saint Mary's, is No. 4 on the program's career blocks list (box below) and is three blocks from equaling Malcolm Thomas for 3rd on the program's all-time list. He has multiple blocks in seven straight games (20 total) and at least one blocked shot (33 total) in his last 17 games. In two games against Saint Mary's in the last two years, Mensah has averaged 11.5 points (10-of-19 FGs), 13.0 rebounds and 4.5 blocks with two steals and an assist in 27.0 minutes per contest. His 13 rebounds vs. Saint Mary's are his season high and, in his career, when he reaches double digit rebounds, the Aztecs are 12-0.
Senior guard Adam Seiko has scored 31 points in the last four games, after totaling 13 in the first four contests of the season. He scored a season-high 12 points on the strength of a career-high four three-point field goals (4-4 3FGs) against Saint Mary's. This is just the ninth time in the Dutcher/Fisher era that an SDSU player has been perfect from three-point range, minimum four attempts, in a game. In the last two contests Seiko is 7-of-7 from the bonus distance. In his career, when he hits at least two treys in a game, the Aztecs are 15-3.
San Diego State will be without sophomore guard Lamont Butler for the fourth consecutive game. Butler, who had 11 points, three assists and three steals in the Long Beach State, suffered a wrist injury and missed both the Michigan and Cal State Fullerton contests. For the season, the sophomore is averaging 9.7 points (3rd on the team), 2.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists.
Brian Dutcher is in his fifth season as San Diego State's head coach and his 23rd season on the Aztec sidelines. In his four plus seasons as head coach, he has led the Aztecs to four conference titles, a 103-34 overall record and has already been named the national coach of the year and twice named Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year. Among first time head coaches who started in the 2017-18 season, Dutcher's 103 wins are the most and he is the only head coach in the group to reach triple-digit victories.
-SDSU-
Aztecs Take On UCSD On Wednesday Evening In Viejas
