SAN DIEGO – Looking for its third three-game win streak of the year, the San Diego State men's basketball team hosts the Air Force Falcons on Saturday evening at 5 p.m. PT with the game being broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
OFF THE BOUNCE
Winners of consecutive games, San Diego State prepares for two games in four days and concludes a stretch of three games in seven days, by playing host to Air Force on Saturday in the only scheduled meeting between the teams this season.
In all, beginning Feb. 4, San Diego State is scheduled to play 11 times (five at home, six away) in the next 30 days (Feb. 4 - Mar. 5).
San Diego State and Air Force will meet for the 86th time, with the Aztecs owning a 61-24 advantage. San Diego State has won the last six meetings between the teams and is 14-2 in the last 16 matchups with the Academy.
San Diego State is 33-6 against the Falcons at home, including an 18-3 mark in Viejas Arena. SDSU has won 14 consecutive matchups with Air Force at Viejas Arena (last AFA win was Feb. 28, 2005).
San Diego State will be home on Tuesday to face Utah State but will end the campaign with four of its final six games on the road.
SDSU ran its modest win streak to two games on Wednesday, winning at San Jose State, 72-62. The Aztecs never trailed in defeating the Spartans for an eighth consecutive time.
San Diego State owned a 22-6 advantage in points off of turnovers (the Aztecs only committed nine turnovers while forcing 17).
Senior guard Matt Bradley is putting together a league MVP type of season. Bradley led the team in scoring for a sixth consecutive game and produced his third consecutive 20-point scoring game (in his 105-game career he has never had four straight 20-point scoring games), ending the game with a season-high 28 points and seven rebounds.
With 81 points in his last three games, Bradley has produced the highest three-game point total by an Aztec since Jamaal Franklin scored 84 points from Feb. 25-Mar. 3, 2012. The highest four-game totals by an Aztec player since 2000 can be found at the bottom of this page.
In his last six games, Bradley is averaging 23.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.3 steals, 0.5 blocked shots, while shooting 54.7 percent from the field (47-of-86) and 58.1 percent from three-point range (18-of-31). His 21.2 scoring average in Mountain West Conference play would be the highest in school average.
Overshadowed by his classmate's performance, senior forward Joshua Tomaic has quite possibly put together the two best games of his career. He was instrumental in the come-from-behind victory over Nevada and was the second-leading scorer and top-rebounder in the victory at San Jose State. In his last two games, Tomaic has 16 points, 13 rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots while connecting on 6-of-8 field goal attempts (75.0 percent) in 38 minutes of action.
In two of San Diego State's three conference losses, the Aztecs have held a lead inside the final 64 seconds of the game (vs. Boise and at Colorado State). By contrast, three of San Diego State's six conference victories have come by at least 25 points (Colorado State, UNLV and New Mexico) and a fourth was by double figures (at San Jose State).
That is one reason that in conference play, the two-time defending outright Mountain West Conference champions own the league's best scoring margin in conference play at +8.3 (second place is Utah State at +7.3).
Since Dec. 8, San Diego State is 9-3 and is tied for 1st nationally in fewest points allowed (56.0), 2nd in opponent two-point field goal percentage (40.3), 3rd in opponent field goal percentage (36.8), 6th in opponent effective field goal percentage (43.5) and 22nd in turnovers forced per game (15.8).
Once again this season San Diego State ranks among the nation's best in defense. The Aztecs are 3rd in scoring defense (57.5), 7th in field goal percentage defense (37.6), 7th in two-point field goal percentage (42.1) and 8th in effective field goal percentage (43.3). In addition, the Aztecs are 1st in Kenpom adjusted defensive efficiency (85.1).
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 110-37 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 110 wins are the most and he is the only head coach in the group to reach triple-digit victories.