Men's Basketball

Aztecs' School-Record Win Streak to Get Tested By Utah on Saturday

Jan. 17, 2003

Complete Game Notes vs. Utah (Sat., Jan. 18) in PDF Format
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Utah (12-3/0-0) at San Diego State (10-4/1-0)

Saturday, January 18, 2003
12:05 p.m. PST (announced)
Cox Arena at Aztec Bowl (12,414)
San Diego, Calif.

Tip Time: Tip time is set for 12:05 p.m. PST.
Television: The game will be televised by ESPN+Plus (Channel 4 San Diego in the San Diego market).
Radio: XTRA 690-AM. Jim Stone (play-by-play), Mike McGregor (producer).

SDSU Coach Steve Fisher: Fisher (Illinois State '67) is in his fourth season at San Diego State with a record of 50-53. Now in his 12th full season as a head coach, he has amassed a 234-135 mark. Fisher led Michigan to the 1989 national championship and made three trips to the national championship game in his eight full seasons in Ann Arbor. The 1991-92 national coach of the year, he led the Aztecs to a 21-12 mark last year en route to the NCAA Tournament. Fisher has helped the Aztecs increase their win total in each of his first three seasons (from 4-to-5-to-14-to-21).

Utah Coach Rick Majerus: In his 19th season overall and 14th year heading the Utes program, Majerus (Marquette '70) holds a career head-coaching record of 394-137, including a 295-85 mark at Utah. Majerus has the Utes aiming for their 11th 20-win season and 10th NCAA Tournament selection in the last 13 years.

The Series: San Diego State and Utah are meeting for the 51st time, with the Utes owning a 42-8 advantage and a 16-6 record in San Diego. The Utes are the only MWC team SDSU has not defeated since the inception of the league, and Utah has won the last 14 games in the series dating to the Western Athletic Conference. Utah won both meetings last season, 70-53 in San Diego and 76-70 in Salt Lake City.

The Tickets: Tickets are available for the game through the SDSU ticket office (619-283-SDSU) or at any Ticketmaster outlet. Tickets range in price from $12-20.

Aztecs' School-Record Win Streak to Get Tested By Utah on Saturday
San Diego State (10-4 overall/1-0 Mountain West Conference), winner of a Division I school-record 10 consecutive games against unranked teams, will try to open a league campaign with consecutive wins for the first time in seven seasons when the Aztecs play host to Utah (12-3/0-0)on Saturday afternoon.

Game time is set for 12:05 p.m. and the contest will be shown live regionally by ESPN+Plus, including locally in the San Diego market on Channel 4 San Diego. The game will also be available nationally through ESPN's Full Court package. The game can be heard along the West coast on XTRA-AM 690 (San Diego).

The Aztecs extended their record win streak vs. non-ranked teams to 10 with a 63-48 victory over Air Force on Saturday. The Aztecs snapped a five-game losing streak in league openers by claiming their second widest margin of victory in an MWC game.

San Diego State controlled the game, shooting 57.5 percent from the field while holding the Academy to just 38.5 percent. In addition, the Aztecs benefited from a 29-13 rebound advantage. Freshman forward Evan Burns came off the bench to score a game-high 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field. Senior guards Deandre Moore and Tony Bland each added 11, while senior center Mike Mackell tallied 10 points. The victory was the 50th win for coach Steve Fisher at San Diego State.

This will be the conference opener for Utah, which carries a season-best seven-game winning streak into the game after dispatching Division III Ripon 75-59 on Tuesday night.

This is the last of the long list of losing streaks that Steve Fisher and company have yet to break (see streak busters later in the notes). The Utes have won 14 straight games in the series and have claimed 23 of the last 24 encounters. The Aztecs' last victory in the series was a 76-73 decision on Jan. 22, 1994, in Peterson Gym. Overall, Utah enjoys a 42-8 series lead.

Tickets are available for Saturday's game and may be purchased through the SDSU ticket office (619-283-SDSU) or at any Ticketmaster outlet. Ticket pricing for the game: reserved sideline seats are $20 and reserved baseline and general admission tickets are $12 (adults) and $10 (children).

Streaks, Storylines and Sidebars

  • San Diego State enters the Utah game having won 10 straight games against unranked teams. It is the first time in the school's Division I era (beginning in 1970-71) that the Aztecs have done that with the previous mark of nine straight set from March 3-Dec. 22, 1984 (final game of the 1983-84 season and the first eight of the 1984-85 campaign) covering a span of two seasons.
  • For the second consecutive season, the Aztecs are 10-4 after the first 14 games. A victory would improve the record to 11-4 and give the Aztecs their best start since the 1996-97 campaign (also 11-4).
  • San Diego State won its first conference opener since the 1996-97 season (snapping a five-game losing streak) last Saturday and opened up league play with a road win for the first time since the 1984-85 season (first time in 18 seasons). Now the Aztecs are looking to improve to 2-0 in league play for the first time since the 1995-96 season (first time in seven seasons). It would also mark the first 2-0 start, with at least one road victory, since the 1984-85 season.
  • San Diego State will be looking to break a 14-game losing streak to Utah on Saturday. Notable streaks that Steve Fisher and Company have halted in their first three-plus seasons on the Mesa:
    Overall: 17-game losing streak, 17-game conference losing streak, 24-game road conference losing streak, 30-game road losing streak.
    Teams and Locations: 6-game losing streak to Wyoming and an 8-game losing streak at Wyoming, 8-game losing streak to Brigham Young and beat the Cougars twice in the same season for the first time in 40 years, 9-game losing streak to UNLV and first win at Las Vegas since 1979, 10-game losing streak to New Mexico and a 16-game losing streak at New Mexico, 10-game losing streak to Fresno State, 17-game losing streak at Colorado State.
    Seasons: Ended string of four consecutive seasons without a .500 record, ended a string of 16 consecutive seasons without a postseason trip (NCAA or NIT), ended 16 consecutive seasons without winning a conference postseason tournament, ended a string of 17 consecutive seasons without consecutive .500 or better records.

SDSU Opens MWC Play With 63-48 Win Over Air Force
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Freshman Evan Burns came off the bench to score a game-high 14 points as the Aztecs opened Mountain West Conference play with a 63-48 victory over Air Force at Clune Arena.

In winning the finale of a six game, 15-days stretch, SDSU extended its longest road winning streak since 1985-86 to four games and won its school-record 10th straight over an unranked opponent. Head coach Steve Fisher earned his 50th victory at San Diego State and 100th conference victory in his career as the Aztecs snapped a five-game losing streak in conference openers and began league play with a road victory for the first time since the 1984-85 season.

The Falcons jumped out to a 12-7 lead at 13 minutes, 31 seconds in the first half, but when Burns entered the game, the momentum swung to the side of the Aztecs. The Inglewood, Calif., native, playing in his first MWC game, scored the next eight points and Mike Mackell added a layup and Deandre Moore a three-pointer as SDSU took a 20-12 lead.

Air Force followed with a 13-4 run of its own to regain the lead at 25-24, but the Aztecs outscored the Falcons 10-4 the rest of the way to take a 34-29 halftime lead. After the first 5:50 of the second half, the Falcons never came closer than six points the rest of the way as the Aztecs held the nation's fifth-ranked three-point attack to 1-of-12 second-half shooting from behind the arc and 38.5 percent field goals for the game.

Senior guards Moore and Tony Bland led the way as the Aztecs shot a season-best 57.5 percent from the field, including 45.5 percent (5-of-11) from three-point range, and hit all 12 free throws. Moore tallied 11 points, a career-high eight rebounds, four assists, three steals and no turnovers in 36 minutes, while Bland added 11 points, five rebounds and three assists.

Mackell scored 10 points and Burns grabbed five rebounds to go along with his 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting.

Tim Keller led the Falcons with 13 points.

NOTES OF THE GAME: SDSU has won six of its last seven conference games and nine-of-10 overall against MWC opponents (counting the 2002 MWC Tournament)... The Aztecs owned a 29-13 rebound advantage and registered their season-low for points allowed (48)... Steve Sir has registered multiple three-pointers in the last three games and made 7-of-14 from three-point range.

San Diego State - Utah: The Series

  • San Diego State and Utah are meeting for the Aztecs' second conference game and the Utes' first this season. It is the 51st all-time game between the schools, with Utah owning a 42-8 advantage inclunding a 16-6 mark on the Aztecs' home floors. Utah has won 14 straight over SDSU, the Aztecs' longest losing skid against any 2002-03 opponent.
  • Utah is the only conference team that San Diego State has not defeated in Mountain West play, with the Utes winning all six previous games by an average margin of 14.7 points. In fact, thanks to last season's impressive run of winning 8-of-9 games against MWC foes and the 2003 conference-opening win over Air Force, SDSU has won its previous game against the other six Mountain West teams and at least two straight against every team but UNLV.
  • Since their loss to the Utes in the teams' final meeting last season on Feb. 9, a game SDSU played without head coach Steve Fisher who had left the team to be with his ailing mother, the Aztecs have won 18-of-24.
  • As the Aztecs try to end their nearly decade-long losing streak to the Utes, SDSU's current 10-4 record is the best mark the Aztecs have brought into their first meeting with Utah dating to the 1984-85 season. That team, which went on to the NCAA Tournament, came into the game with a 10-2 record and added another win to that mark by defeating the Utes at the Sports Arena, 76-67. In each of the last two seasons, SDSU has entered the first Utah game with a mark of 10-5, but both times the Aztecs played the Utes on the road and lost.

San Diego State Players vs. Utah - Then & Now
SDSU's loss to Utah at Cox Arena last season came at the beginning of the Aztecs' second turn through the Mountain West. The defeat, which came without Aztec head coach Steve Fisher who had left the team to be with his ailing mother, dropped SDSU to 2-6 in the MWC. Since that loss, San Diego State has won 9-of-10 against MWC foes (6-1 in regular season play, including the conference-opening victory over Air Force on Saturday, and three in a row at the conference tournament), and 18-of-24 overall.

A lot has changed for the fortunes of SDSU and its players since that loss to Utah.

  • Senior guard Tony Bland
    Then: Coming into the game with a 17.1 scoring average over his first 22 Aztec contests, Bland was limited to 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting.
    Now: Bland's scoring average has dipped to 14.3 in the contests since the final Utah game last year, as Randy Holcomb and Al Faux provided the scoring punch down the stretch last season and Mike Mackell has shouldered much of the load this season. However, Bland has become more of a complete player since that time, as his rebound average has improved from 3.3 through the second Utah game last season to 4.5 since and has improved his assist-to-turnover ratio from 1.2-to-1 to 1.6-to-1.
  • Sophomore guard Tommy Johnson
    Then: Johnson appeared for only nine minutes in eight conference games last season. He did not play in either Utah game and appeared for only two minutes over two games after the Feb. 9 Utes contest as SDSU was involved in several closely contested conference games with a tightened rotation.
    Now: A spectator for nearly all of last season's spectacular run to the NCAA Tournament, the now-sophomore guard has become one of the Aztecs' most valuable contributors on the defensive end as well as providing a spark offensively. After serving as sixth man for the first six games of the season, Johnson has moved into the starting lineup for six straight games before returning to the bench for the Aztecs' last two. In playing 125 more minutes in 13 games (245) than he did all of last season in 20 games (120), Johnson has more than tripled many of his per game averages from a year ago.

Johnson's Averages 2001-02 2002-03Minutes 6.0 18.8Points 1.5 6.2Rebounds 0.9 2.9Assists 0.4 2.2Steals 0.2 0.7

  • Senior center Mike Mackell
    Then: After completing an impressive first run through the Mountain West in tallying at least 12 points in each of his first seven MWC games, Mackell was limited to just five points and 1-of-8 shooting on Feb. 9, 2002, in his second game vs. Utah.
    Now: That second run through the conference was not as successful for Mackell, who after scoring 15.9 points per game over the first seven MWC contests dipped to 8.0 for the next seven. But he came up strong offensively in scoring 41 points over the Aztecs' three-win MWC Tournament and is averaging a team-high 15.8 points per game entering the second conference game of 2002-03.
  • Senior guard Deandre Moore
    Then: After starting three straight games, Moore came off the bench on Feb. 9 against Utah and produced a rebound and an assist in 20 minutes against the Utes.
    Now: That was the next-to-last non-start for Moore over the last 11-plus months (he came off the bench when coach Fisher started an all-senior five in the 2001-02 finale vs. Air Force), as his return to the starting lineup has coincided with SDSU's impressive run. Starting with the Jan. 29, 2002, Houston game in which Moore started after coming off the bench in the previous 12, the Compton, Calif., native has earned a starting nod in 26 of the Aztecs' last 28 games and stabilized the SDSU offense from the point guard position. Over that 28-game span, SDSU has won at a 71.4 percent clip (20-8), including a 19-7 mark (73.1 percent) with Moore in the starting lineup.
  • Junior forward Aerick Sanders
    Then: Coming off the bench behind Randy Holcomb, Mike Mackell and Chris Walton last season, Sanders matched his regular-season conference-game high of four points and grabbed three rebounds in 10 minutes against the Utes at Cox Arena last year.
    Now: Following a sophomore season where he served as an energy player and defensive specialist in averaging 10.9 minutes, Sanders has started all 14 games in 2002-03 and is the MWC's second-leading rebounder at 8.7 boards per game. While more than doubling his minutes from a year ago at 26.1 per game, the Carson, Calif., native is supplying that relentless energy for longer stretches in leading the MWC in offensive rebounding at 3.9 per game while standing seventh with 1.1 blocks per game. Sanders' rebounding per 40 minutes in 2002-03 would translate to 13.4 boards, including 6.0 offensive rebounds per game.

Last Year's Meetings
Utah 70, San Diego State 53
Feb. 9, 2002 (Cox Arena - San Diego, Calif.)
SAN DIEGO -- Playing without its head coach, San Diego State fell 70-53 to Utah on February 9 at Cox Arena.

San Diego State head coach Steve Fisher, who left the team on Feb. 5 to be with his ailing mother in Illinois, missed the game. Associate head coach Brian Dutcher ran the team in his absence.

Phil Cullen had 14 points in the first half for the Utes, leading them to a 42-23 halftime lead. He was also an impressive 5-of-6 from three-point range. Jeff Johnsen was Utah's high-scorer with 20 points, 15 of which came off three-pointers.

Randy Holcomb led the way for the Aztecs with 14 points and five rebounds, and Al Faux and Tony Bland contributed 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Utah took the lead with 13:22 remaining in the first half and never relinquished it. Its biggest lead of 21 points came off a steal and dunk by Britton Johnsen in the first minute of the second half.

San Diego State pulled to within 12 points with 6:15 remaining in the game, but could not sustain its momentum. Shooting just 29 percent for the game, the Aztecs suffered their worst defeat of the regular season.

Utah 76, San Diego State 70
Jan. 14, 2002 (Huntsman Center - Salt Lake City, Utah)
SALT LAKE CITY -- Utah outscored San Diego State 13-5 over the final 4:02 of the game to claim a 76-70 victory on January 14 at the Huntsman Center.

The Utes connected on 14-of-26 three-point field goals. The victory was the eighth in a row for Utah, extending the nation's longest home-court conference streak to 46.

Utah sprinted out to an early lead and enjoyed a 20-10 advantage with 10:38 remaining in the first half. The Aztecs scored the next 13 points to take a 23-20 advantage. The Utes rallied for a 39-34 lead at intermission.

The second half was just as close, as neither team led by more than four points for a 17-minute stretch after the break.

The Aztecs led as late as the 4:02 mark when Brandon Smith hit a tough fade-away jumper to break the game's sixth and final tie, giving the Aztecs a 65-63 lead.

Nick Jacobson responded with his seventh three-point field goal to produce the game's eighth and final lead change, putting the Utes up for good. Jacobson had a game-high 25 points.

The Aztecs saw their record in Salt Lake City fall to 1-24. They shot 51.9 percent from the field and out-rebounded the Utes 36-27. They also committed a season-low 11 turnovers, but were unable to overcome Utah's 14 three-point field goals.

Junior guard Tony Bland, coming off the worst shooting night of his career two days earlier at Brigham Young, responded by scoring 22 points.

About Utah
Following a tough start to the season with two losses at the Maui Invitational, the Utes have won 10-of-11 including seven straight entering their MWC opener against the Aztecs on Saturday. With the only loss over that stretch coming at in-state rival Utah State, the Utes have registered victories over then-No. 1 Alabama (51-49) at home and fellow SDSU opponents IPFW (76-59) and at San Diego (64-58).

In his 14th season heading the Utah program, Rick Majerus has the Utes looking for their 11th 20-win season and 10th NCAA tournament in the past 13 years. Having coached 10 of the NCAA's top 30-ranked scoring defense teams since 1989-90, Majerus' Utes were ranked ninth in the nation as of Jan 8 in allowing just 57.5 points per game. Utah has held 12-of-14 opponents to 61 points or fewer, including three below 50 points. The Utes limits opponents to 39.8 percent shooting and six foes have shot below 40 percent.

Despite ranking seventh in the conference at 68.0 points per game, the Utes are second in the MWC in scoring margin with an average differential of +10.3 points. Junior guard Nick Jacobson leads Utah's three-headed offensive attack at 12.9 points per game. Junior center Tim Frost is averaging 12.3 points, while Britton Johnsen, the 2002 MWC player of the year and a preseason Wooden Award candidate, is scoring 12.1 per game and leading the team with 6.4 rebounds.

With five players 6-10 or taller, the Utes boast the MWC's best size along the frontcourt. They are second in the conference with 60 blocks in 15 games but just fifth in rebound margin at +3.7.

School-Record Success Against Non-Ranked Foes
With Saturday's 63-48 victory over Air Force in the first game of the Mountain West season, San Diego State has won 10 consecutive games vs. non-ranked opponents for the first time since moving to Division I prior to the 1970-71 season, surpassing a streak of nine straight from March 3-Dec. 22, 1984 (final game of the 1983-84 season and the first eight of the 1984-85 campaign).

Below is a look at the longest in-season win streaks vs. unranked foes in Aztec history.

Longest Winning Streaks vs. Non-Ranked Opponents/Div. I SeasonRk. Season (W-L) Wins Ended By1. 2002-03 (10-4) 10 - 1984-85 (23-8) 8 Texas Christian3. 1982-83 (18-10) 7 Arizona 1981-82 (20-9) 7 UTEP 1977-78 (19-9) 7 CS Fullerton 1971-72 (18-10) 7 Oregon State7. 2000-01 (14-14) 6 New Mexico 1981-82 (20-9) 6 UNLV

Record Attendance Pace
Through eight home games, SDSU is on a record pace for average season attendance. The Aztecs are playing before an average home crowd of 7,284, which at the current pace would easily surpass the record average of 6,165 fans that viewed Cox Arena games last season. Should this trend continue, Aztec teams under Steve Fisher would own three of the top five season attendance marks in SDSU history.

Largest Average Home AttendanceRk. Year HG W-L Total Average1. 2002-03 9 6-3 65,557 7,2842. 2001-02 15 12-3 92,475 6,1653. 1981-82 18 16-2 86,825 4,8244. 1980-81 14 9-5 67,011 4,7875. 2000-01 17 12-5 77,104 4,528

Monday night's crowd, the seventh-largest ever in Cox Arena at 8,078 spectators, marks the fourth game to break into SDSU's top 16 single-game Cox Arena attendance chart this season. The Aztecs have played before the first two sellout crowds of 12,414 in the six-year history of Cox Arena - against then-No. 1/1 Arizona (Dec. 7) and No. 23/21 Texas Tech (Jan. 6) - as well as the 13th- and 15th-largest Cox Arena crowds against Eastern Washington (6,183) and Hawai'i (6,138), respectively.

Largest Cox Arena AttendanceRk. Att. Day Opponent Date Result1. 12,414^ Sat. (1/1) Arizona 12-7-02 L, 81-89 12,414^ Mon. (23/21) Tx Tech 1-6-03 L, 63-753. 11,764 Sat. UNLV* 1-26-02 L, 79-80 (ot)4. 11,334 Sat. Fresno State* 1-31-98 L, 94-975. 8,438 Sat. (21/16) Fresno 12-8-01 W, 93-786. 8,186 Sat. San Diego 12-9-00 L, 52-557. 8,078 Wed. San Diego 1-8-02 W, 78-728. 7,232 Sat. Utah* (D) 2-9-02 L, 53-709. 7,164 Sat. Utah* 2-10-01 L, 63-7610. 6,967 Sat. Air Force* 3-2-02 W, 49-4711. 6,739 Mon. New Mexico* 1-8-01 L, 67-7512. 6,553 Sat. Colorado State* 1-19-02 W, 81-6913. 6,183 Sat. Eastern Wash. 11-23-02L, 70-7514. 6,171 Mon. Wyoming* 1-21-02 L, 85-88 (ot)15. 6,164 Sat. Utah* 1-16-99 L, 53-7916. 6,138 Sat. Hawai'i 12-14-02W, 60-49Opponent Associated Press/USA Today coachespoll national ranking at game time left ofteam name. D - Indicates day game.* - Indicates conference game.^ - Indicates Cox Arena capacity

Senior Dominant
San Diego State's senior class of Tony Bland, Mike Mackell and Deandre Moore held the shorthanded Aztecs together early in the season when SDSU was thin on reserves. Through the first four games of the season, the trio averaged 46.3 points, accounted for nearly 60.1 percent of San Diego State's scoring, and also combined for 17.0 rebounds and 10.8 assists per game.

But now that the Aztecs have 11 players averaging at least 8.8 minutes per game, the seniors are no less important. Against Air Force, the trio combined for 32 of the Aztecs' 63 points, 15-of-29 rebounds and 8-of-12 assists. That performance hearkened back to the Nov. 30 contest at Cal Poly, when the Aztecs rallied from behind to win as the triumvirate accounted for 26 of the Aztecs' 31 second-half points.

Below is a look at what the three seniors have accomplished in each game this season.

Aztec SeniorsOpponent MP FG 3FG FT R F A TO B S TPEWU 103 15-36 2-11 11-13 15 11 6 8 0 1 43at UP 98 13-33 4-9 16-25 21 13 14 14 0 3 46at CP 109 18-41 3-6 13-20 20 5 8 5 2 5 52UCSD 81 16-31 7-12 5-8 12 3 15 4 0 2 44Arizona 95 19-37 4-9 5-7 15 10 9 9 0 5 47at LBSU 99 13-25 2-3 5-7 10 9 7 9 0 2 33Hawai'i 98 14-28 2-2 11-15 11 5 7 8 1 5 41at UH 87 13-26 2-8 11-15 9 5 7 8 0 6 39FAU 80 11-23 0-5 12-21 11 4 16 5 0 5 34IPFW 73 11-23 0-4 4-6 8 2 11 5 1 2 26LMU 89 15-30 0-4 14-18 3 7 8 6 1 2 44Tx Tech 73 14-32 2-7 2-5 9 7 6 13 0 2 32USD 81 12-24 1-3 11-21 9 7 12 10 1 0 36at AFA 103 11-20 2-4 8-8 15 5 8 5 0 3 32

The numbers are even more impressive when isolated to road games, in which the Aztec rotation has been tightened and the veterans have been depended upon for greater stretches. Bland, Mackell and Moore have combined for 202 points (57.9 percent of the Aztecs' 349 points on the road), 75-of-190 rebounds (39.5 percent) and 44-of-77 assists (57.1 percent). That works out to an average of 40.4 points, 15.0 rebounds and 8.8 assists in 99.2 minutes per game on the road.

Conversely in home games, the trio accounts for 50.1 percent of SDSU's points (347-of-683), 28.7 percent of rebounds (93-of-324 rebounds) and 58.1 percent of assists (90-of-155), translating to averages of 38.6 points, 10.3 rebounds and 10.0 assists in 87.0 minutes.

Aztec Seniors On The RoadOpponent MP FG 3FG FT R F A TO B S TPat UP 98 13-33 4-9 16-25 21 13 14 14 0 3 46at CP 109 18-41 3-6 13-20 20 5 8 5 2 5 52at LBSU 99 13-25 2-3 5-7 10 9 7 9 0 2 33at UH 87 13-26 2-8 11-15 9 5 7 8 0 6 39at AFA 103 11-20 2-4 8-8 15 5 8 5 0 3 32

Bench Points
When the Aztec roster received reinforcements beginning with the Dec. 7 Arizona game, the SDSU bench has stepped up its productivity and relieved some the scoring slack from the seniors and starting five. Through the first four games of the season, the Aztec bench had accounted for only 48 of the Aztecs' 308 points (15.6 percent), an average of 12 points per game. Since freshman Evan Burns (NCAA Initial Eligibility Waiver Committee ruling) and sophomore Chris Manker (NCAA 4-2-4 transfer rule) became eligible for the Arizona game and sophomore Travis Hanour (NCAA 4-2-4 transfer rule) joined the fold against Hawai'i, the Aztec reserves more than doubled their production by averaging 24.7 points per game (33.2 percent of SDSU's scoring) over the past nine contests.

The following is a look at SDSU's bench production in each game this season as well as its averages over the first four games of the season and the last 10 contests.

First Four GamesOpponent MP FG 3FG FT R F A TO B S TPEWU 36 4-6 0-1 2-5 1 6 4 1 0 2 10at UP 52+ 6-12 2-6 3-5 11 15 5 6 0 1 17at CP 45 1-12 0-3 2-2 7 4 6 3 0 2 4UCSD 64 6-17 3-11 2-3 11 5 5 5 0 1 17Avg/Pct 49.3 .362 .238 .600 7.5 7.5 5.0 3.8 0 1.5 12.0
Last 10 GamesOpponent MP FG 3FG FT R F A TO B S TPArizona 58 9-22 2-9 1-2 10 9 9 5 2 2 21at LBSU 65 7-19 4-10 7-9 14 7 2 5 1 3 25Hawai'i 50 4-14 1-4 2-4 8 6 3 3 2 3 11at UH 57 5-17 3-10 0-2 10 5 4 3 1 0 13FAU 72 14-31 4-13 11-15 12 8 1 10 2 5 43IPFW 91 10-23 7-15 6-11 17 10 7 8 1 3 33LMU 58+ 8-13 2-5 2-2 14 5 3 2 4 5 20Tx Tech 76 9-19 4-11 0-1 11 9 5 6 1 2 22USD 78 12-25 3-7 7-12 12 15 3 4 1 1 34at AFA 62 10-16 3-6 2-2 7 5 2 6 0 2 25Avg/Pct 66.7 .442 .367 .633 11.5 7.9 4.0 5.2 1.5 2.6 24.7Aerick the Great
Forward Aerick Sanders got his junior campaign off to a fast start but has been even better of late, posting 11 or more rebounds in five of the last 10 games. Over that span, he has grabbed a total of 94 rebounds for an average of 9.4 per game.

Sanders was an impressive presence in the post against Houston Dec. 21, as he recorded his first career double-double with career-bests in points (12) and rebounds (14) as well as a career-high four assists.

Sanders is second in the Mountain West with 8.7 rebounds per game, including a league-leading 3.9 offensive rebounds, as well as the conference's seventh-most blocks at 1.1 per contest.

The 40 minutes of action for Sanders against Eastern Washington was not only a career-high, but was more court time than the junior saw in any two games last season (last season's high was 20 minutes, with his previous career mark of 24 minutes set during his freshman campaign).

Last season, Sanders blocked 29 shots to rank seventh in the Mountain West Conference, and just missed cracking the school's all-time top-10 list.

He has blocked at least one shot in nine of 14 games and currently stands eighth on SDSU's career blocks list with 59.

Most Blocked Shots/CareerPl. Name, Years Blocks To Tie1. Leonard Allen, 1982-85 2142. Michael Cage, 1981-84 1183. Joe McNaull, 1991-93 1144. Marcelo Correa, 1997-01 100 415. Rodney Hawkins, 1987-88 77 186. Eddy Gordon, 1980-83 71 127. Marty Dow, 1990-91 68 98. Aerick Sanders, 2001-02 t 599. Leon Carter, 1995-96 5810. Marc Carter, 1994-95 55

The Freshmen
Although the Aztecs' senior class of Tony Bland, Mike Mackell and Deandre Moore grab most of the headlines, San Diego State's 2002-03 team is comprised of a lot of youth.

Of the nine players that saw action in each of the four games this season, four were freshmen - Trimaine Davis, John Sharper, Steve Sir and Markee White (one other was a sophomore - Tommy Johnson). Additionally, freshman Evan Burns and sophomore Chris Manker debuted against Arizona and against Hawai'i sophomore Travis Hanour joined the mix. The three have received significant minutes even as they adjust to game action.

The five freshmen have combined to play 659 minutes this season (47.1 minutes per game), and have scored 239 points (17.1 points per game) while adding 98 rebounds (7.0 rebounds per game) and 37 assists (2.6 assists per game).

Below is a quick look at how the newest Aztecs performed.

  • STEVE SIR, a redshirt freshman, started the first six games of the season. He connected on 3-of-6 three-pointers Wednesday against USD for his most since a career-best six threes on Dec. 2 against UCSD. He has a team-high total of 28 three-point field goals and was a perfect 9-for-9 from the free-throw line before missing his only attempt against USD. The sharp-shooter from Minnesota, who made at least two treys in each of his first five games and has multiple threes in each of the last three contests, boasts the MWC's 12th-best three-point percentage at .400 and is SDSU's fifth-leading scorer at 7.2 points per game.
  • EVAN BURNS, one of two true freshmen on the SDSU roster, produced his breakout game of the season against Florida Atlantic Dec. 28. In only his fifth collegiate appearance, Burns produced 21 points, four offensive rebounds and four steals in only 18 minutes of action. He shot 7-of-11 from the field and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line in becoming the only Aztec to surpass the 20-point mark in a game in his freshman season. He has since followed up with 10, 10, two, nine and 14 points for an average of 11.0 points over the last six games. He registered his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds vs. Loyola Marymount in scoring in double-figures for three straight games, a career first.

Despite reaching only 20 minutes three times in nine games and being held scoreless against Hawai'i, Burns is the squad's third-leading scorer at 8.7 points per game. He is supplying instant offense off the bench, as he entered the Air Force game with the Aztecs trailing by five six-and-a-half minutes in and promptly reeled off eight straight points to give SDSU the lead. He scored a game-high 14 points vs. the Falcons.

Burns' stats averaged over 40 minutes per game translate to 19.2 points, 10.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 3.5 steals.

  • JOHN SHARPER, a walk-on freshman, has played 105 minutes including several at the point guard position. Sharper has looked solid handling the ball and has committed just five turnovers in 105 minutes of action, including a career-high turnover-free 16 minutes against LMU largely spent spelling a foul-troubled Moore. He grabbed a career-high five rebounds in 12 minutes and contributed a three-pointer to SDSU's record-setting barrage of 16 treys against UCSD, and his three-pointer capped the Aztecs' game-breaking 20-6 run in the win at Long Beach. He set his career high with eight points and hit two three-point field goals in a game for the first time against Florida Atlantic. Of his 17 field goal attempts, 15 have come from three-point range, and his .467 three-point field goal percentage tops the team.
  • TRIMAINE DAVIS, a redshirt freshman, appeared in the first 12 games this season and accumulated 25 points and 16 rebounds in 115 minutes of action. He is averaging 9.6 minutes per contest. Davis, who made all 15 of his shots during the preseason, went 3-for-3 from the floor in scoring a career-high six points against UCSD.
  • MARKEE WHITE, a redshirt freshman, has seen action in six games this season and scored the first points of his collegiate career on a pair of free throws against UCSD.

Moore is Better
Healthy for the first time since becoming an Aztec, Deandre Moore has overcome previous season injuries such as a separated shoulder and shin splints to participate in every practice this season.

That, coupled with a rigorous off-season workout schedule, has the Aztec point guard 16 pounds lighter than a season ago and playing some of the best basketball of his career.

Moore is averaging a career-high 8.4 points through 14 games this season while dispensing an average of 4.8 assists, second in the MWC. He has also been perhaps the Aztecs' most indispensible player thus far, playing a total of 439 minutes for an average of 31.4 per contest.

The Compton, Calif., native produced his best game of the season to date against the best competition. Against top-ranked Arizona Dec. 7, Moore scored 16 points and dished out eight assists while limiting preseason Wooden Award candidate Jason Gardner to nine points on 1-of-10 shooting.

Moore has played 35 or more minutes in six games in 2002. Last season, due to nagging injuries, Moore logged 35 minutes in only three of 33 games.

The senior guard broke the 300-assist barrier for his career against Portland and the Vanderbilt transfer entered the Aztecs' career top-10 list against Arizona. He has since moved into seventh place with 280 assists as an Aztec.

Most Assists/CareerPl. Name, Years Assists To Tie1. Tony Gwynn, 1978-81 5902. Chad Nelson, 1994-97 4123. Mark Delsman, 1974-77 3764. Anthony Watson, 1983-86 356 725. Keith Smith, 1982-83 349 656. Dean Decker, 1977-78 307 237. Deandre Moore, 2001-02 2848. Ray Leary, 1974-75-76 2799. Mike Dodd, 1976-79 27710. Creon Dorsey, 1985-86 263Top Two Scorers Gone, No Problem for Fisher
Some might see the departure of the Aztecs' top two scoring averages from the 2001-02 season - Al Faux (17.0 ppg) and Randy Holcomb (16.9 ppg) - as a problem, but Steve Fisher has overcome scoring departures in the past to produce big seasons.

Three times in his coaching career Fisher has had his top two scorers depart, but all three times he has led his team back to the postseason the following year.

In the 1990-91 season, Fisher lost his entire starting five, including Rumeal Robinson and Terry Mills, off a squad that went 23-8 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. That season, Fisher guided his squad to the NIT.

In 1994-95, Fisher overcame the losses of Jalen Rose and Juwan Howard to put the Wolverines in the NCAA Tournament.

Most recently, in 1995-96, Fisher lost Ray Jackson and Jimmy King but still put together a 20-win season and guided Michigan to the NCAA Tournament.

The Great Turnaround
Steve Fisher and the Aztecs' journey from perennial basement dweller to NCAA Tournament team is made all the more remarkable by the speed at which the turnaround was achieved.

Just three years ago in 1999-2000, the Aztecs won only five games, and two years ago in 2000-01, San Diego State finished seventh in the conference.

As if going from 5-23 in 1999-00 to 14-14 in 2000-01 wasn't enough, in the 2001-02 season the Aztecs went 21-12 for the second-highest win total in the school's Division I history.

Other accomplishments of the 2002 NCAA Tournament team:

  • San Diego State made it to the postseason for just the fifth time in the school's 33 Division I seasons. The Aztecs advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 1975, 1976 and 1985 and to the postseason NIT in 1982, prior to participating in the Big Dance in March of 2002.
  • The RPI is one barometer that shows the program's dramatic rise. For the seven seasons from 1993-94 to 1999-00, San Diego State had an average final RPI of 190. In the 2000-01 season, the Aztecs jumped to 154 in the final RPI. In 2001-02 ,the Aztecs jumped more than 100 positions in the ratings and ended the regular season at number 39 in the RPI, ahead of perennial powers such as Notre Dame (41), Villanova (43), Arkansas (46), Virginia (50), UNLV (51), Missouri (54), Louisville (61), Fresno State (64), Purdue (100), North Carolina (119), Seton Hall (125) and Michigan (142).
  • With 21 victories last season, San Diego State posted its highest single-season victory total since the 1984-85 team went to the NCAA tournament and finished 23-8. This marked the third consecutive year, all under Steve Fisher, that the Aztecs bettered their win total from the previous season (4 to 5 to 14 to 21). The 21 victories are the second-highest victory total of the Division I era (beginning with the 1970-71 season) and surpasses the school's total in the previous two seasons combined.
  • The Aztecs posted consecutive .500 or better seasons for the first time since the 1983-84 and 1984-85 seasons. The Aztecs, who went 14-14 in 2000-01, were 21-12 in 2001-02. Prior to the last two seasons, SDSU went 147-280 in the 15 seasons between the two winning stretches. The Aztecs averaged 9.8 wins between the 1985-86 and the 1999-00 seasons.
  • The Aztecs finished league play with a 7-7 record, marking the first time SDSU finished .500 in conference action since the 1984-85 team claimed second in the WAC with an 11-5 mark. In the previous 15 seasons, the Aztecs averaged 3.9 league wins. After finishing no better than sixth place in a conference (Western Athletic or Mountain West) since the 1984-85 campaign and having an average finish of 7.7 in the previous 16 seasons, the Aztecs claimed a share of fourth place in the MWC in 2001-02.
  • San Diego State set a school record in the 2001-02 season in both total home attendance (92,475) and average home attendance (6,165). In 15 home games, San Diego State shattered the previous school record for highest average, set back in 1981-82 when SDSU averaged 4,824. The 2001-02 average was a 36.1 percent increase over the previous season and a remarkable 135.4 percent increase over Steve Fisher's first season (1999-2000).
  • The success on the court has generated media coverage unparalleled in the program's history. The Aztecs made a school-record 25 appearances on live television during the 2001-02 season, a marked increase over the year before Fisher's arrival, the 1998-99 campaign, when SDSU was on television nine times. In addition, San Diego State made the first two network television appearances in the program's history. In 2002-03, the SDSU regular-season schedule includes 20 live television appearances.
  • Below is a look at the Aztecs' records since the start of the 2000-01 campaign. The record on the right shows how many games it took San Diego State to win the same number of games prior to the 2000-01 season.

The Difference: Since/Before the '00-01 SeasonRecord Since BeforeRecord 45-30 45-86Conference 12-17 12-49Home Record 30-11 30-35Away/Neutral 15-19 15-64