SAN DIEGO – After suffering its first lost in Viejas Arena in more than a year on Saturday night, the San Diego State men's basketball team jumps right back into the fire with its second of three games in five days welcoming the UNLV Runnin' Rebels to San Diego for a Monday night tilt. The game is scheduled to tip at 6 p.m. and will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
OFF THE BOUNCE
Having suffered its first loss in 49 days (snapped a season-long 5-game win streak) and its first home loss in 385 days (snapped a 16-game homecourt win streak) on Saturday, San Diego State plays the middle game in a stretch of three games in five days against UNLV on Monday at Viejas Arena.
The Aztecs and Runnin' Rebels are meeting for the 77th time, with San Diego State owning a 39-37 series advantage. The Aztecs were victorious when the teams met in Las Vegas earlier this month (Jan. 1), claiming a 66-55 victory. SDSU was led by Matt Bradley 17 points, in a game in which the Aztecs played without starting guards Lamont Butler and Trey Pulliam.
San Diego State is 18-2 in its last games - regardless of location - against UNLV.
Brian Dutcher has been on the SDSU sidelines for 35 of SDSU's 39 victories in the series. Those 35 wins have come against 10 different UNLV head coaches (Bill Bayno, Max Good, Charlie Spoonhour, Jay Spoonhour, Lon Kruger, Dave Rice, Todd Simon, Marvin Menzies, T.J. Otzelberger and Kevin Kruger).
The Aztecs are 11-1 in their last 12 games immediately following a loss, and in situations where a loss is followed immediately by a home game, San Diego State has won 18 consecutive contests.
Viejas Arena opened prior to the 1997-98 season and has become one of the great homecourt advantages in all of college basketball. The program owns a 299-88 mark in the building and will go for its 300th victory on Saturday.
Since Jan. 1, 2019, the Aztecs are 43-5 at home (89.6 percent), the nation's 12th-best record and tops in the Mountain West Conference during that span.
Since Dec. 8, San Diego State leads the nation in fewest points allowed (52.0), opponent field goal percentage (34.0), opponent effective field goal percentage (39.8), opponent two-point field goal percentage (38.1) and 23rd in three-point field goal percentage (28.1).
Once again this season San Diego State ranks among the nation's best in defense. The Aztecs are 3rd in scoring defense (56.4), 1st in effective field goal percentage (41.8), 4th in field goal percentage defense (36.9) and 11th in three-point field goal percentage defense (27.6). In addition, the Aztecs are 3rd in Kenpom adjusted defensive efficiency (86.9).
On Saturday, San Diego State rallied from an 11-point second half deficit, but it was not enough as Boise State handed the Aztecs a rare home loss, 42-37. SDSU held Boise to 14 total field goals and 31.1 percent field goal shooting in the contest. All of the numbers in those three categories are the lowest ever for the Broncos in a Mountain West Conference game.
In that loss, San Diego State had the following streaks snapped:
-5-game overall win streak (tied for the 17th-longest active streak nationally; 2nd longest active in the Mountain West)
-13-game Mountain West Conference win streak (2nd longest streak in school history; SDSU record and MW record is 15 games)
-16-game win streak against Mountain West Conference opponents (includes three victories in the 2021 league tournament)
-6-game Mountain West Conference road win streak (SDSU record and MW record is 8 games)
-7-game win streak against Wyoming (longest series win streak by either side in the 88-game history)
Although you don't want to make it a habit, this is not the first time the Aztecs have struggled to score in the Brian Dutcher/Steve Fisher era and more times than not, the season has turned out ok. Below are a few examples:
- lost Wyoming, 45-58 (Jan. 19, 2013) - Won 23 games; advanced to NCAA third round
- lost at New Mexico, 44-58 (Feb. 22, 2014) - won 31 games; MWC regular season champs; advanced to NCAA Sweet 16
- lost to Washington, 36-49 (Dec. 7, 2014) and Wyoming, 43-45 (Mar. 14, 2015) - won 27 games; advanced to NCAA third round
- lost to UALR, 43-49 (Nov. 21, 2015) and lost to Grand Canyon, 45-52 (Dec. 18, 2015) - won 28 games; won outright MWC regular-season; advanced to NIT semifinals
- lost at Utah State, 45-57 (Jan. 14, 2021) - won the outright MWC regular season; won the MWC tournament; NCAA tournament.
SDSU head coach 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 106-35 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 106 wins are the most and he is the only head coach in the group to reach triple-digit victories.
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