SAN DIEGO – After three games in seven days and following a 76-67 loss to New Mexico on Saturday evening, the San Diego State men's basketball program returns to action on Wednesday night in Fort Collins, Colo., when it plays the Colorado State Rams in Moby Arena.
OFF THE BOUNCE
San Diego State has won 13 of its last 15 Mountain West games and has come away the victor in 25 of its 32 conference road contests since the start of the 2019-20 campaign.
The Aztecs are battle tested having played the fifth toughest schedule in the nation based on its average opponent's NET rank. Only two schools in the AP Top 25 have played a tougher schedule than the Aztecs; No. 2 Kansas with the second toughest schedule and No. 4 Alabama with the fourth most difficult schedule. Tonight's opponent, Colorado State, has played the 58th most difficult schedule.
Since the beginning of the 2009-10 campaign, San Diego State's 345-113 record is the seventh best in the nation (see box on page 8).
The last time out, San Diego State suffered its first conference loss of the season, 76-67 against New Mexico in Viejas Arena. The loss was the team's first at Steve Fisher Court since January 1, 2017.
SDSU is 19-2 in its last 21 Mountain West home games since January 1, 2021.
SDSU is 50-1 in its last 51 games, and has won 38 straight games, in which it has shot at least 50.0 percent from the field which it last did against Nevada on January 10 in a 74-65 win.
The Aztecs are 17-3 in their last 20 games immediately following a loss. In situations where a loss is followed immediately by a home game, San Diego State has won 24 consecutive games.
San Diego State and Colorado State will meet for the 92nd time Wednesday evening, with the Aztecs owning a 48-43 series advantage. The Aztecs have handed the Rams two of its last four double digit losses in Moby Arena.
Since the start of the 2005-06 season, the Aztecs have won 11 of the 16 games against Colorado State on the Rams home floor, with six of those 11 wins coming by double digits.
San Diego State's calling card is defense, and it is playing it at an elite level, according to Kenpom, which has the Aztecs ranked No. 25 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. 66 so far this year and SDSU is No. 31 in adjusted efficiency margin.
San Diego State has appeared in the Associated Press' Top 25 Poll for 94 weeks since the start of 2010-11 season. SDSU's 94 weeks in the top 25 are the 18th most nationally and are the most for any California school in that time frame (see graphic on page 9).
SDSU enters tonight's game with a 13-4 record, with its losses coming against then No. 5 Arizona and No. 9 Arkansas at the 2022 Maui Jim Maui Invitational, Saint Mary's at the Jerry Colangelo Classic and New Mexico on Saturday night. The first three are Quad 1 games played on a neutral court, with New Mexico, a Quad 2 game, coming at Viejas Arena. The first three rank among the top-20 in Kenpom rankings. In addition, the Aztecs victory over Ohio State, No. 17 in Kenpom and receiving votes in the AP Poll, is also a Quad 1 game. The Ohio State, Arizona and Arkansas games along with the team's win at UNLV and against Nevada are Quad 1 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.
San Diego State owns an 89-20 record (81.7 percent) since the start of the 2019-20 campaign. That's the fifth best record in the nation, trailing only Gonzaga (106-10), Houston (100-19), Kansas (99-19), and Baylor (93-18).
Senior Matt Bradley led the Aztecs attack against New Mexico with a team-high 14 points and dished out a team-best five assists. He led the team in scoring for the eighth time this season and, if you include his time at California, he has led his team in the scoring column 70 times in 134 career games. His double-digit scoring effort was his 10th this season and the 107th of his college career. Since the start of the conference play, he is averaging 19.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.4 assists while shooting 46.4 percent from the field (32-of-69) and 53.1 percent from the bonus distance (17-of-32).
Senior Adam Seiko totaled 13 points against New Mexico, going 4-of-6 from the field (66.7 percent), including 3-of-5 from the bonus distance (60.0 percent). Seiko hit double figures for the third time this season and the 12th time as an Aztec (SDSU is 10-2 when he scores at least 10 points). He has hit at least one three in 72 career games (58-14 record) and multiple threes in a game for the 32nd time (37-5 record).
Keshad Johnson, a senior, shot 83.3 percent against New Mexico (6-of-7) and totaled 10 points to record back-to-back double-digit games (11 pts vs. Nevada on Jan. 10). The double-digit points were his sixth time this season and 18th of his career. He also grabbed a season-high matching seven rebounds.
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 132-44 overall record, and has been named the national coach of the year and twice the Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year.