Nov. 15, 2016
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU Men's Basketball Game Notes | SDSU Broadcast Flip Card
NEWS AND NOTES
* San Diego State will play its second game in three days on Wednesday when it returns home to play host to San Diego Christian. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. PT. There is no television or stream of the event, but it can be heard on The Mighty 1090 with Ted Leitner on the call.
* The Aztecs are looking to rebound from Monday night's 69-48 loss at No. 14/14 Gonzaga. SDSU received 14 points apiece from Trey Kell and Jeremy Hemsley, but as a team, it was just 16-for-56 from the field for 28.6 percent shooting. San Diego State also committed a season-high 15 turnovers, which led to 25 Bulldog points.
* The duo of Hemsley and Kell were the team's top scorers for the second straight outing. After scoring 25 vs. USD and 14 vs. Gonzaga, Hemsley is averaging a team-best 19.5 points. Kell, meanwhile, is averaging 18.5 points after his 23- and 14-point efforts so far this season.
* For the second time in as many games, the Aztecs were without the services of projected starter Malik Pope (knee), Max Hoetzel (knee) and Ben Perez (back). The latter two did not make the trip to Gonzaga. San Diego State, however, welcomed back Matt Shrigley, who had three rebounds in 14 minutes, after sitting out the season opener due to an ankle injury.
* The short-handed Aztecs held Gonzaga to 39.4-percent shooting (26-for-66) and 33.3-percent from behind the three-point arc (8-for-24). Those numbers were well below what the Bulldogs put up in their season opener vs. Utah Valley when they connected on 52.2 percent from the field (35-for-67) and 41.2 percent from three-point range (7-for-17).
* SDSU will look to rebound from a loss with a win in the game immediately after for the sixth straight time. The Aztecs were successful once already, when it defeated cross-town foe San Diego in the opener, which followed last season's loss to George Washington in the NIT semifinals to end the campaign.
* San Diego State will look to continue its dominance over schools from the state of California. The Aztecs are 57-4 in their last 61 games vs. California universities and 47-1 in their last 48 vs. non-league foes from The Golden State. SDSU will look to improve to 2-0 this year vs. California teams after downing the Toreros last Friday.
* The Aztecs return to Viejas Arena as one of the toughest teams to beat at home. Since the start of 2005-06, San Diego State ranks eighth nationally in winning percentage, checking at 88.9 percent (160-20). Four of SDSU's last five opponents have failed to reach the 60-point mark, a streak that dates to last season.
* San Diego State will look to keep its aforementioned streaks alive against a San Diego Christian team that has never defeated the Aztecs. The Hawks are 0-6 all-time vs. SDSU with all six meetings occurring at Viejas Arena.
* The Aztecs will get a bit of a break after the game with San Diego Christian, which will mark their third in a six-day span to begin the season. San Diego State will not return to action until Monday, Nov. 21, when it travels to Sacramento to face California at the new Golden1 Center. The game will be a rematch of last year's game in Las Vegas, one in which San Diego State rallied for a 72-58 victory.
* The trip to Sacramento will be a homecoming for seniors Dakarai Allen and D'Erryl Williams, and junior Malik Pope. Allen and Williams went to high school at Sheldon High, which is located in the state capital, and Pope attended Laguna Creek High, which is 21 miles from Sacramento. Head coach Steve Fisher and associate head coach/head coach in waiting Brian Dutcher also spent time with the Sacramento Kings prior to their stints at San Diego State.