SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State men's basketball team opens the 2024 Mountain West Men's Basketball Tournament as the 5-seed and plays 4-seed UNLV on Thursday, March 14 at 2:30 p.m. in a quarterfinal matchup.
OFF THE BOUNCE
The Aztecs and Runnin' Rebels are meeting for the 82nd time, with SDSU holding a 43-38 advantage in the all-time series. In the Mountain West era, SDSU has a 39-21 lead in the series, is 22-23 in Las Vegas overall, and a robust 21-17 at Thomas and Mack Center.
When it plays the Runnin' Rebels in the Mountain West quarterfinal game on Thursday, SDSU puts on the line its 8-game win streak in conference tournament games against UNLV. Overall, SDSU is 9-2 against UNLV in Mountain West Tournament encounters.
The Aztecs have been the No. 5 seed in the Mountain West Tournament on three previous occasions: 2002, 2003 & 2018. SDSU has a 6-1 record as the No. 5 seed and has won two tournament titles from that position (2002 & 2018). San Diego has faced UNLV as the No. 5 seed twice; it was eliminated by the Runnin' Rebels from the event in the first round in 2002 and defeated them in the championship game of the 2018 tournament.
San Diego State is 13-2 in its last 15 games at UNLV's Thomas & Mack Center. Since March 5, 2014, San Diego State is 13-2 against the Rebels in TMC, while the rest of the country is 52-110 in the facility.
Since the start of the 2008-09 season, no Division I team has won more road games against a single opponent than San Diego State's 18 victories over UNLV at Thomas & Mack Center. Saint Mary's (at Loyola Marymount) and Gonzaga (at Pepperdine) are second with 15 wins.
San Diego State's 45 victories at Thomas & Mack Center since the start of the 2008-09 campaign (27 neutral and 18 road wins) are the most by any team in any building in which it has not played at least one home game. Villanova is second with 36 victories at Madison Square Garden.
Since the start of the 2009-10 season, San Diego State has the SIXTH best record in the nation in neutral site games. The Aztecs are 67-32 (.677) in neutral site games in that timeframe, which includes a 34-10 mark at Thomas & Mack in the Mountain West Tournament.
The Aztecs are among the elite programs in the country and that includes winning on their opponent's floor. Since the beginning of the 2009-10 campaign, SDSU has the SEVENTH best road record in the nation, 106-67 (61.3 percent).
Since the start of the 2019-20 campaign, SDSU has lost 17 times in 52 road games (35-17, 67.3 percent), which are the FIFTH fewest road losses in the nation trailing only Gonzaga (6 losses), Saint Mary's (12 losses), Houston (15 losses) and Baylor (16) and its 67.3 winning percentage in road games in that timeframe is the SIXTH best in the nation.
Eight of San Diego State's nine losses have come on the road against Quad 1 opponents, and seven of those eight defeats have come by nine points or less. SDSU has lost Quad 1 road games by 1, 4, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 & 18 points. The other loss came in its last game, 77-79, vs. Boise State.
With its 73-41 win at Fresno State (Feb. 24), Brian Dutcher has at least 21 victories in all seven seasons as head coach. Dutcher extended his school record for most consecutive 21-win seasons to start his coaching career.
San Diego State owns a 130-32 record (80.2 percent) since the start of the 2019-20 campaign. That is the THIRD best record in the nation trailing only Gonzaga (145-19, 88.4 percent) and Houston (144-25, 85.2 percent).
The Aztecs metrics rank among the best in the nation. Through the games of March 10, the Aztecs were ranked No. 20 in the NET, No. 20 in Kenpom, No. 25 in T-Rank, No. 23 in KPI and No. 35 in BPI. San Diego State's NET strength of schedule is No. 29.
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-plus seasons as head coach, he has led the Aztecs to five conference titles, six Mountain West championship game appearances, a 173-56 (.755) 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.
Men’s Hoops Face UNLV in Mountain West Quarterfinals
