ORLANDO, Fla. - Having advanced to the NCAA tournament for a third consecutive season and the round of 32 for the first time under head coach Brian Dutcher, fifth-seeded San Diego State faces 13-seeded Furman in a South Regional second-round game at the Amway Center in Orlando, Fla., on March 18 at 12:10 p.m. ET.
OFF THE BOUNCE
San Diego State has played in the South Regional on three occasions (2013, 2015 & 2023) and has advanced to the round of 32 in each of those appearances (see the box on the right).
The Aztecs are making their 15th appearance in the Division I event, owning a 7-14 all-time record. Head coach Brian Dutcher has been on the Aztec sidelines for 18 of the program's 21 all-time tournament games and all seven of the program's victories, including his first as the program's head coach in the team's first round game on Thursday.
This is the fourth NCAA appearance for Brian Dutcher, the two-time Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year, in his six seasons as head coach with a likely appearance in the 2019-20 event, canceled because of the COVID pandemic.
This is the program's 10th tournament appearance in the last 13 seasons that a champion has been crowned. That total does not include the 2019-20 season when SDSU was 30-2 and ranked sixth in the AP poll when the season ended prior to the tournament.
San Diego State owns a 104-22 record (82.5 percent) since the start of the 2019-20 campaign. That's the third-best record in the nation, trailing Gonzaga's 118-12 (90.7 percent), and Houston's 115-21 (84.6 percent), and ahead of Baylor's 103-23 (81.7 percent) and Kansas' 111-25 (81.6 percent) records.
The Aztecs come into its second-round game having won 11 of its last 12 (11-1) and 15 of its last 17 (15-2), with its two losses coming on the road at Nevada (14-2 at home) and at Boise State (14-1 at home), both which earned NCAA Tournament bids.
San Diego State owns the sixth-best record in the nation since the start of the 2009-10 campaign, 360-115 (.758), and is 161-90 (.641) road and neutral site contests in that time frame which is the seventh best in the nation.
San Diego State played in its sixth consecutive Mountain West Tournament title game, defeating Utah State, 62-57. Matt Bradley, who averaged 12.3 points and 3.0 rebounds, was named the tournament MVP. Jaedon LeDee, who reached double figure-scoring in two of three games and averaged 6.0 rebounds earned inclusion on the all-tournament team. The Aztecs and Aggies have played each other in four of the last five championship games and have a 2-2 split in those contests. Boise State was the interloper in last year's title matchup against San Diego State. Amazingly, SDSU has made the tournament title game in nine of the last 10 years and in 13 of the last 15 seasons (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 & 2023).
San Diego State and Furman are meeting for the first time in program history.
San Diego State is 2-0 all-time against the current membership of the Southern Conference and has won its two games against the conference by a combined score of 139-116 (69.5-58.0). Included in the two wins against current members of the Southern Conference is a 59-58 victory over Western Carolina on a game-winner with 11.2 seconds to play in a quarterfinal game at the Great Alaska Shootout on Nov. 27, 2008.
San Diego State won its 21st game at Fresno State on February 15, marking the sixth straight season the Aztecs have reached that win total (every year under Brian Dutcher). The game was one of a league-best seven road wins in conference play for SDSU.
San Diego State continues to boast an impressive NCAA metric profile. The Aztecs are 14th in the NET, 16th in KenPom, 25th in BPI, 28th in Sagarin Rating, sixth in KPI and 11th in T-Rank: all tops among Mountain West programs.
SDSU head coach Brian Dutcher is 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 five conference titles, a 147-46 (76.2 percent) 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 147 wins are the most in the nation.