SAN DIEGO – Having won five straight, San Diego State's men's basketball team is the hottest in the Mountain West heading into the final two weeks of the regular season, and plays at Boise State, the leader in the conference standings, on Tuesday evening in Boise, Idaho.
OFF THE BOUNCE
Owners of a Mountain West Conference-best five-game win streak, San Diego State opens a stretch of three games in seven days with a road contest at conference leading Boise State on Tuesday night.
The two-time defending outright Mountain West Conference regular season champions will play their second road game in four days after posting a 17-point win at Fresno State on Saturday.
SDSU is in a stretch of playing four of its final six games on the road and on Saturday started a stretch of four games in 10 days.
Riding a five-game win streak, the Aztecs have once again played themselves into the hunt for a regular-season conference title. The Aztecs are in third-place, 2-games back (1-game back in the loss column). On Feb. 5, the Aztecs were in fifth place, 3 1/2-games behind first.
San Diego State's NCAA metric profile continues to improve. The Aztecs are 32nd in the NET, 23rd in KenPom, 29th in BPI and 29th in Sagarin Rating.
The Aztecs and Broncos will meet for the 26th time, with San Diego State owning a 17-8 advantage. SDSU has won six of the last seven encounters, including the most recent game played in Boise, 72-55, on Feb. 16, 2020.
Boise State claimed the first meeting between the teams this season, a 42-37 decision on Jan. 22 at Viejas Arena. It was the third fewest combined points scored in a San Diego State game since 1971 and the second fewest points scored in Viejas Arena history.
The Broncos 42 points scored that night are the fewest scored in a victory in any Division I game this season.
In its most recent game, San Diego State handed Fresno State its most lopsided loss of the season, 61-44, at the Save Mart Center on Saturday night. The Aztecs held the Bulldogs to 34.1 percent field goal shooting and forced 14 turnovers in winning for the fifth consecutive time in the series.
San Diego State is 35-1 in the Brian Dutcher era when holding its opponent to less than 35 percent from the field.
Sophomore guard Chad Baker-Mazara had a season-high 20 points and connected on 6-of-7 shots from the field, including 4-of-5 from three-point range. It was the third 20-point scoring effort of his career and marked the first time in 22 games with the Aztecs that he has led the team in scoring.
Junior forward Keshad Johnson scored 14 points, on 5-of-6 shooting from the field, and added four rebounds. He reached double figures off a career-high tying third consecutive game and the Aztecs improved to 10- 0 when he scores 10 or more points in a game.
Mountain West Conference Player of the Year Candidate Matt Bradley showed how impactful he can be without scoring. The senior guard saw his double-digit scoring streak snapped at eight games, but had a team-high seven rebounds, four assists (he has 14 dimes in his last three games), three steals and just one turnover. According to Synergy, Bradley's defensive assignment went 1-for-8 from the field and scored two points.
Senior guard Trey Pulliam had a sensational game, with nine points, a career-high tying eight assists and just two turnovers in a team-high 34 minutes of action.
Senior forward Joshua Tomaic continued his excellent play of late, scoring seven points, on 3-of-3 shooting, while adding two rebounds in 12 minutes. The senior is averaging 5.8 points and 3.6 rebounds and has connected on 12-of-15 shots from the field (80.0 percent) in his last five games.
According to KenPom, San Diego State's has had three of its best six highest offensive efficiency games of the season have come in its last three outings - Utah State 124.0, Air Force 120.7 and at Fresno State 110.5 (highest offensive rating away from home this season).
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 seven conference victories have come by at least 25 points (Colorado State, UNLV and New Mexico) and seven have been by double-figure margins.
That is a major reason San Diego State owns the league's best scoring margin in conference play at +10.3 (second is Boise State at +7.4).
Since Dec. 8, San Diego State is 12-3 and is 2nd nationally in fewest points allowed (55.7), 3rd in opponent field goal percentage (37.7), 6th in opponent two-point field goal percentage (42.4) and 7th in opponent effective field goal percentage (44.1).
Once again this season San Diego State ranks among the nation's best in defense. The Aztecs are 2nd in scoring defense (57.1), 8th in effective field goal percentage (43.7), 9th in field goal percentage defense (38.1) and 9th in two-point field goal percentage (43.1). In addition, the Aztecs are 1st in Kenpom adjusted defensive efficiency (85.8).
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 113-37 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 113 wins are the most and he is the only head coach in the group to reach triple-digit victories.
Aztecs At Boise State On Tuesday Night
