SAN DIEGO – On Monday night in Viejas Arena, the San Diego State men's basketball team will honor its 2022-23 squad with a pair of Mountain West banners and its first Final Four banner, and then opens the 2023-24 campaign against Cal State Fullerton.
OFF THE BOUNCE
San Diego State enters its 103rd season of basketball, its 54th at the Division I level and the seventh under the direction of Brian Dutcher on Monday evening, when the Aztecs play host to Cal State Fullerton.
The Aztecs and Titans are meeting for the 34th time in school history, with the Aztecs claiming 23 of the previous contests. From Jan. 18, 1964, to Jan. 4, 1969, San Diego State won 10 straight games against Cal State Fullerton. That 10-game win streak is tied for the seventh longest in SDSU program history against a single opponent.
San Diego State has won 16 straight season-openers against unranked teams, a run dating back to the start of the 2005-06 season and includes an 80-57 victory over the Titans in the 2022-23 season opener. SDSU's last loss to an unranked opponent on opening night came on Nov. 19, 2004, when it ended up on the wrong end of a double-overtime 80-72 defeat at the hands of UC Santa Barbara.
San Diego State has won 10 straight season openers and 17 of the last 18 to begin a campaign. The lone blemish during the stretch came at the start of the 2012-13 season when SDSU fell to No. 9/9 Syracuse on the USS Midway. Taking into account that the Syracuse game was played outdoors on the flight deck of the USS Midway, the Aztecs have come out victorious in its last 17 season openers played indoors.
The Aztecs are currently on a 13-game win streak in season openers that have taken place at home.
San Diego State, which won both the 2022-23 Mountain West regular season and tournament titles and reached the league tournament championship game for the sixth time in head coach Brian Dutcher's six seasons, looks for its unprecedented 16th Mountain West men's basketball title. Entering the 2023-24 season, San Diego State has won nine regular season and seven Mountain West tournament titles.
For the fifth time since the start of the 2010-11 season, San Diego State is ranked in the preseason AP Top 25 Poll. The Aztecs No. 17 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 campaign, SDSU has appeared in the AP poll for 102 weeks, more than any program in the state of California, ahead of UCLA (86 weeks), Saint Mary's (53 weeks), Southern California (36 weeks) and California (11 weeks).
San Diego State owns a 108-23 record (82.4 percent) since the start of the 2019-20 campaign. That is the third best record in the nation, trailing only Gonzaga (121-13, 90.3 percent) and Houston (116-22, 84.1 percent).
San Diego State prepped for the regular season with an 81-50 victory over Cal State San Marcos on October 30. The Aztec defense was in regular-season form, limiting the opposition to 20 points in the second half and only allowing consecutive made field goals on two occasions during the contest.
Senior Jaedon LeDee led the Aztecs with 20 points, eight rebounds and drew an unbelievable 11 fouls. He was 8-of-10 from the line, had a steal, an assist and knocked down two 3-pointers.
Freshman forward Miles Heide finished with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor, grabbed seven rebounds and blocked two shots. Sophomore forward Elijah Saunders was 3-of-5 from the field, including 1-of-2 from the bonus distance and 1-of-1 from the line, for a total of eight points to go along with eight rebounds and two blocks. Sophomore forward Demarshay Johnson Jr. had nine points on 3-of-3 shooting from the floor, knocked down three free throws and pulled down three boards.
Brian Dutcher is in his seventh season as San Diego State's head coach and his 25th season on the Aztec sidelines. In his six seasons as head coach, he has led the Aztecs to five conference titles, six Mountain West championship game appearances, a 151-47 overall record, the 2023 NCAA national championship game, has been named the national coach of the year, and twice the Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year.
No. 17 Aztecs Set to Host Season Opener Monday
