LAHAINA, Maui – Having arrived on Maui on Saturday afternoon and completed a spirited practice at the Lahaina Civic Center on Sunday, the No. 17/19 San Diego State Aztecs are prepped to face the Ohio State Buckeyes in each team's opening game of the 2022 Maui Jim Maui Invitational on Monday at 4 p.m. HT/6 p.m. PT. This is the first Maui Invitational to be conducted in Lahaina since the coronavirus pandemic forced the event to be played on the mainland the past two years.
OFF THE BOUNCE
After opening the 2022-23 season with three consecutive victories, the No. 17/19 San Diego State Aztecs open the 2022 Maui Jim Maui Invitational against Ohio State on Monday, Nov. 21 at the Lahaina Civic Center at Lahaina, Maui.
The Aztecs and Buckeyes are meeting for the fourth time in the school history, and the first since an 83-61 SDSU win in the quarterfinal of the 2003 Maui Invitational. San Diego State holds a 2-1 advantage in the all-time series, having come out on the victorious side in the last two matchups.
San Diego State jumped two spots in the Associated Press Top-25 Poll last week, from No. 19 to No. 17. Now nationally ranked for a second consecutive week, the Aztecs are occupying the No. 17 ranking position for the fourth time in program history.
San Diego State is enjoying its 90th appearance in the AP Top 25 Poll last week (all have occurred since the start of the 2010-11 campaign). Since the start of the '10-11 season, SDSU's 90 weeks in the top 25 are the 18th most nationally.
SDSU has a 5-4 record in its three previous times competing in the Maui Invitational and have a second, third and sixth place finish in those competitions.
San Diego State, which in 2021-22 reached the Mountain West championship game for the fifth time in head coach Brian Dutcher's five seasons, looks for its unprecedented 15th Mountain West men's basketball title. Entering the 2022-23 season, San Diego State, the most successful program in conference history, has won eight regular season and six Mountain West tournament titles.
For the fourth time since the start of the 2010-11 season, San Diego State entered a season ranked in the preseason AP Top 25 Poll. The Aztecs No. 19 ranking in the initial poll is the second highest in program history, trailing only the 2014-15 preseason poll in which it was No. 16. Since the start of the 2010-11 and at the conclusion of last week's action, SDSU had appeared in the AP poll for 89 weeks, more than any program in the state of California; ahead of UCLA (68 weeks), Saint Mary's (44 weeks), Southern California (35 weeks) and California (11 weeks).
San Diego State owns a 78-16 record (83.0 percent) since the start of the 2019-20 campaign. That is the third best record in the nation, trailing only Gonzaga (91-7) and Baylor (81-13).
San Diego State embarked on its first trip away from Viejas Arena last Tuesday and defeated the Stanford Cardinal 74-62 in Maples Pavilion. It was the first win for the Aztecs against Stanford in five tries. Senior guard Matt Bradley knocked down the game's first bucket, a 3-pointer, and SDSU never looked back. San Diego State shot 51.0 percent (26-of-51), and equaled a season high with eight triples.
Senior transfer Jaedon LeDee led the Aztecs with 14 points, his third double digit scoring game in as many tries this year. He was 6-of-8 from the floor and for the year is shooting 54.5 percent (18-of-33); three of his 11 career double-digit scoring games have come in his first three games as an Aztec.
Senior Keshad Johnson reached double-digit scoring for the first time this season, 11 points, and 13th time of his Aztec career. In games in which the Oakland, Calif., native scores in double figures, San Diego State has yet to suffer a defeat. He committed a turnover, but in game when he has one or fewer ball handling errors, in 63-of-77 career games, the Aztecs are 52-11.
Junior guard Lamont Butler recorded his second double digit scoring effort of the season, 11 points and 13th of his Aztec career. He also had his second game, in three outings, with six assists. And against the Cardinal, he didn't commit a turnover. For the year he has 16 assists and five turnovers (3.1:1 assists-to-turnover ratio.
Brian Dutcher is now in his sixth season as San Diego State's head coach and his 24th season on the Aztec sidelines. In his five-plus seasons as head coach, he has led the Aztecs to four conference titles, five Mountain West championship game appearances, a 122-40 overall record, and has been named the national coach of the year and twice the Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year.
SAN DIEGO STATE IN THE MAUI INVITATIONAL
In 2022 San Diego State participates in the Maui Invitational for the fourth time.
The Aztecs have an overall 5-4 record in its previous three trips to Maui with second, third and sixth place finishes.
In 2003, the team went 2-1, defeated Ohio State 83-61 in its first game, then lost to Dayton 76-71 before winning the tournament's third-place game 75-67 over host Chaminade.
The 2014 edition also saw No. 15 SDSU post a 2-1 record. The team opened with a double-overtime victory against Brigham Young, 92-87, and followed that up with a 74-57 win against Pittsburgh. In the championship game the No. 3 Arizona Wildcats got the better of the Scarlet and Black 61-59.
No. 17 Aztecs Face Ohio St. In Maui Invitational
