SAN DIEGO – Coming off a 95-57 victory on Friday night over the Occidental Tigers, No. 24/24 San Diego State closes out its current three-game homestand welcoming the Troy Trojans to Steve Fisher Court at Viejas Arena on Monday night.
OFF THE BOUNCE
The Aztecs and Troy are meeting for the second time in school history, and the first time since the 2003-04 season. In the previous matchup, on Nov. 30, 2003, in Viejas Arena, Troy defeated the Aztecs 93-84.
In the 2003 contest, the Trojans established the Viejas Arena record for 3-pointers made when it knocked down 19 on 40 attempts. In the Aztecs victory on Monday against Occidental, SDSU equaled that record by hitting 19 treys on its 37 attempts.
According to the Sagarin Ratings, San Diego State's schedule strength to date, which includes three games against top-25 opponents, is the 10th toughest in the nation through the games of Dec. 3.
Once again, the San Diego State defense is playing at an elite level, according to Kenpom, which has the Aztecs ranked No. 18 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. 41 so far this year and is No. 24 in adjusted efficiency margin. Two of the three rankings, adjusted defense and margin, lead all Mountain West programs with adjusted offense ranked second in the league through the games of Dec. 3.
San Diego State remained in the Associated Press Top 25 & USA Today Coaches Poll last week, slotting in at No.24 in each of the polls released on Nov. 28. Nationally ranked for a fourth consecutive week, the Aztecs are occupying the No. 24 ranking position for the seventh time in program history.
San Diego State is enjoying its 92nd appearance in the AP Top 25 Poll this week (all have occurred since the start of the 2010-11 campaign). Since the start of the '10-11 season, SDSU's 92 weeks in the top 25 are the 18th most nationally.
SDSU enters tonight's game with a 6-2 record, with its two losses coming against No. 14/12 Arizona and No. 9/9 at the 2022 Maui Jim Maui Invitational. The Aztecs have the No. 15-ranked strength of schedule in the nation according to ESPN Basketball Power Index.
In addition to its No. 15 strength of schedule, SDSU is ranked No. 24 in strength of record and No. 28 in BPI.
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 92 weeks, more than any program in the state of California; ahead of UCLA (71 weeks), Saint Mary's (44 weeks), Southern California (35 weeks) and California (11 weeks).
San Diego State owns a 82-18 record (82.0 percent) since the start of the 2019-20 campaign. That is the fifth best record in the nation, trailing only Gonzaga (95-10), Baylor (87-15), Houston (91-18) and Kansas (91-19). The 10 winningest programs since 2019-20 are listed in the box below.
In just its second game against Occidental since the 1953-54 season, No. 24 San Diego State walked away with a 95-57 victory and improved its all-time series record to 26-8 against the Tigers. The Aztecs 52.2 percent shooting from the floor was the second best the team has achieved this season and its 19 made 3-pointers equaled the Viejas Arena record (matching Troy from Nov. 30, 2003).
Senior Adam Seiko led the Aztecs with a career-high 20 points in 18:27 of action, 17 of which came in 11:14 of floor time in the first half to eclipse his previous career high of 14 points. He finished with a career-high six 3-pointers and became just the fourth Aztec since the start of the 1996-97 season with at least 20 points, six 3-point field goals, and zero turnovers in a game (others: Jeremy Hemsley at Nevada on Jan. 4, 2017, Chase Tapley vs. San Francisco on Dec. 22, 2012 and DJ Gay vs. Air Force on Jan. 19, 2011). Only one Aztec has scored more points in less minutes (Evan Burns - 21 points in 18 minutes vs. Florida Atlantic on Dec. 28, 2002) since at least 1996-97.
With 14 points, junior Micah Parrish reached double-digit scoring for the third time in his last five games as an Aztec and 36th time in 67 college contests. He knocked down four 3-pointers, which are a season high.
Senior Matt Bradley finished with nine points and a career-high eight assists in just over 23 minutes, equaling his season total of eight dimes in 177 minutes coming into the game. It marked the first time he led SDSU in assists this year and 31st time in his career he has led his team in assists. His +41 plus/minus rating was the highest in the game (next highest was +25).
Freshman Miles Byrd set career highs in points (8), assists (6), rebounds (1), and steals (1) in 19:35 of action, after entering the game with three career minutes played. His six assists are tied for the second most in a game this season by an Aztec, trailing only Matt Bradley's career-high eight in the game.
Freshman Elijah Saunders set career bests in points (4), rebounds (8), assists (3) and blocks (1). He established those marks in 24:58, after entering the game with 13 career minutes played. His eight rebounds are the second most by an Aztec this season, trailing Nathan Mensah's 10 against Brigham Young on Nov. 11.
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 125-42 overall record, and has been named the national coach of the year and twice the Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year.
No. 24 Men's Hoop Host Troy On Monday In Viejas
