SAN DIEGO - After four contests in 11 days, and then an eight day break, the San Diego State men's basketball team returns to Steve Fisher Court at Viejas Arena on Tuesday to wrap up its non-conference schedule against cross-town foe UC San Diego at 7:40 p.m. PT.
OFF THE BOUNCE
The Aztecs and UC San Diego are meeting for the 13th time in school history, with San Diego State owning wins in the 12 previous matchups in the series.
According to the Sagarin Ratings through the games of Dec. 18, San Diego State ranks No. 28 and its schedule strength, which includes three games against top-25 opponents, is 10th-ranked in the nation while the Titans bring in a No. 307 ranking and have the 199th-ranked strength of schedule.
After SDSU plays UC San Diego it has another eight-day break prior to hosting its Mountain West opener against Air Force on Dec. 28, meaning it will play once in 16 days (December 13-to-December 28). Since the start of the 2009-10 campaign, SDSU has only three instances in which it has played one game in more than a 16-day stretch. (22 days, 12/22/2011-to-1/10/12; 21 days, 12/8/18-to-12/29/18; 17 days, 12/11/10-to-1/8/11).
Once again the San Diego State defense is playing at an elite level, according to Kenpom, which has the Aztecs ranked No. 19 nationally in adjusted defense. In addition, the SDSU offense, which ended the 2021-22 campaign ranked No. 167 in adjusted offense, slots in at No. 52 so far this year and is No. 25 in adjusted efficiency margin.
San Diego State's 8-3 record is all the more impressive with its opponents adjusted offensive efficiency being the 11th best in the nation and their defense's are the 20th ranked in adjusted efficiency, according to Kenpom through the games of Dec. 18.
San Diego State has appeared in the AP Top 25 for 93 weeks since the start of 2010-11 season. SDSU's 93 weeks in the top 25 are the 18th most nationally and are the most for any California school in that time frame.
SDSU enters tonight's game with a 8-3 record, with its losses coming against then No. 14 Arizona and No. 9 Arkansas at the 2022 Maui Jim Maui Invitational and Saint Mary's at the Jerry Colangelo Classic. Two of the three, vs. Arizona and Arkansas, are Quad 1 games, played on a neutral court, and all rank among the top-15 in Kenpom rankings. In addition, the Aztecs victory over Ohio State, No. 18 in Kenpom is also a Quad 1 game. Those four games and the team's win at Stanford are Tier A games in the Kenpom rankings.
San Diego State has played five Kenpom Tier A contests among its 11 non-conference games.
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 93 weeks, more than any program in the state of California; ahead of UCLA (73 weeks), Saint Mary's (44 weeks), Southern California (35 weeks) and California (11 weeks).
San Diego State owns a 84-19 record (81.6 percent) since the start of the 2019-20 campaign. That is the fifth best record in the nation, trailing only Gonzaga (98-10), Baylor (89-15), Houston (94-19) and Kansas (93-19).
In its first game against Kennesaw State, the Aztecs earned an 88-54 victory on December 12. The win improved the program's record against teams from the ASUN conference to 3-1.
Junior Michah Parrish led the Aztecs with 19 points, including 10 in the first half. It was the fourth time this season he has reached double digits and 37th time in his college career (70 games). Led the team in scoring for the first time as an Aztecs and the fifth time of his college career. His eight field goals are a career high and 13 field goal attempts matched a career best.
With 14 points, senior Darrion Trammell reached double-digit scoring for a team-leading six times this season and the 55th time in his college career (64 games). He led the team with four assists, the ninth time in 10 appearances, he has paced the team in the category and his four rebounds matched a season-best.
Senior Jaedon LeDee scored in double figures for the fourth time this season but first time since the Stanford game on November 15. He started the season with three straight double-figure scoring games (48 points total), but had just 38 total over the seven games prior to the Kennesaw State game. LeDee made a season-high 10 free-throw attempts, three more than his previous high of seven vs. Brigham Young on November 11. He shot 90.1 percent from the free-throw line (10-for-11) after entering the game at 72.7 percent for the season.
Nathan Mensah, a senior, finished the game one rebound shy of his second straight double figure rebounding game. He had three blocked shots and SDSU improved to 20-4 when he has at least three blocks in a game and 41-12 when he records multiple swats in a game.
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 127-43 overall record, and has been named the national coach of the year and twice the Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year.
Men's Hoops Host Crosstown Foe UCSD Tuesday Night
