SAN DIEGO – Looking to go 5-0 for just the fourth time in the last 21 years, after its 66-49 victory at the University of San Diego on Wednesday night, the San Diego State men's basketball welcomes the LIU Sharks to Steve Fisher Court at Viejas Arena for a non-conference matchup on Friday night.
NEWS AND NOTES (As of Nov. 21)
· San Diego State and LIU meet for the first time on Nov. 22.
· Entering Friday, San Diego State is one of just 59 Division I teams with a perfect record (there are 351 Division I men's basketball programs).
· The Aztecs have opened the 2019-20 campaign with a 4-0 record, marking the best start for the program since the 2014-15 NCAA tournament and Mountain West Conference regular season championship team opened with a 5-0 record.
· A win would give San Diego State just its second 5-0 start in the last nine seasons (other: the aforementioned 2014-15 season).
· Since the start of the 2008-09 season and including the Aztecs 66-49 win at USD, San Diego State is 126-81 in road or neutral site games. That winning percentage of .609 ranks 13th nationally.
· Although early in the season, San Diego State has shown tremendous improvement offensively this season. Through four games, SDSU ranks 30th in three-point field goal percentage (41.0).
· SDSU has enjoyed a huge advantage on the glass thus far, with a +11.5 margin. That margin ranks 20th nationally. The Aztecs are 4-0 this season and 36-8 in the Brian Dutcher era when owning an advantage on the glass.
· Junior guard Malachi Flynn has made his presence felt on The Mesa after sitting out last season. The Washington State transfer who was selected by the media as the preseason conference newcomer of the year, leads San Diego State in scoring (14.0 ppg), assists (5.3) and steals (6). He is shooting 43.8 percent from the field and has connected on 7-of-16 three-point attempts (43.8 percent).
· Junior guard Jordan Schakel has started the season scorching the nets from beyond the arc. Schakel, who shot 41.5 percent from beyond the arc last season, has made 11-of-16 three-point attempts (68.8 percent) through four games. He is fifth nationally and leads the Mountain West in the category and is averaging 11.5 points per contest.
· Senior Forward Yanni Wetzell is averaging 9.5 points and 8.3 rebounds through four games. At USD he recorded career-highs with 20 points and 12 rebounds, the most by an Aztec in the series since Josh Davis pulled down 13 boards on Dec. 5, 2013. It was his first double double as an Aztec, third of his career and the first for a San Diego State player this season. the most by an Aztec in the series since Josh Davis pulled down 13 boards on Dec. 5, 2013
· Senior guard KJ Feagin posted consecutive double-digit scoring games and is averaging 10.0 points, 3.7 assists and 2.3 rebounds in his three games as an Aztec. The Santa Clara transfer is 6-of-12 from beyond the arc (50.0 percent).
· Sophomore forward Natahan Mensah posted his second straight double-digit scoring game with 10 points at USD. It was just teh second time he has accomplished that in his 38-game career. Prior to the USD game, he was coming off a remarkable game with 14 points, a game-high nine rebounds and a career-high six dunks in the victory over Grand Canyon. He is averaging 9.0 points and 9.0 rebounds through the first four games and in his last two games he is 12-for-17 from the field, 24 points and 14 rebounds in 43 minutes of action.
· San Diego State has outrebounded each of its first four opponents by a total of 175-to-129, an average of 11.5 rebounds per game.
· Nationally on the glass, San Diego State currently ranks 29th in offensive rebounds per game (14.3), 29th in total rebounds per game (43.8) and 20th in rebound margin (+11.5).
· The USD game marked the first game in a stretch of three games in six days for San Diego State. The Aztecs return home to face LIU on Friday night and Tennessee State on next Monday. Adding two games in the Las Vegas Invitational over Thanksgiving, extending it out to five games in 10 days.
· For just the fifth time in the last 35 seasons, SDSU has opened a campaign 4-0. On each of the previous four occasions, the Aztecs has advanced to postseason play (2 NCAA tournaments, 2 postseason NIT).
· San Diego State is looking for its first 5-0 start to a campaign since the 2014-15 NCAA Tournament season. Since the inaugural year of the Mountain West (1999-00), San Diego State has started the season 5-0 four times. The 2010-11 team, which reached the Sweet-16 in the NCAA Tournament, reached No. 4/4 in the national rankings and had the best start going, 20-0, before a 68-55 loss at BYU on Jan. 19, 2011. In 2006-07, the Aztecs started 8-0 and in both 2007-08 and the aforementioned 2014-15 season, SDSU opened the year 5-0.
· This is the first time since 2010-11 that the Aztecs have opened 4-0 with at least two of those victories coming in road games. That season, SDSU opened the year with wins at Long Beach State and at No. 11/12 Gonzaga en route to a 20-0 start, a 34-3 final record and the school's first NCAA Sweet 16 appearance.
THE SERIES AGAINST LIU
· San Diego State and LIU meet for the first time on Friday.
· The Sharks are an amalgam of two programs LIU Brooklyn and LIU Post. The two school's athletics programs came together over the summer under one banner.
· With victories over Bryant (75-63 on Nov. 11, 2011), Central Connecticut (70-60 on Dec. 30, 1989) and St. Francis Brooklyn (91-72 on Dec. 27, 1988), San Diego State is 3-0 over teams currently in the Northeast Conference (NEC).
LAST TIME OUT
SAN DIEGO STATE 66, SAN DIEGO 49
Nov. 20, 2019 | Jenny Craig Pavilion
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State unleashed senior transfer Yanni Wetzell against the University San Diego and the results were impressive.
The senior transfer set career-highs with 20 points and 12 rebounds for San Diego State, which beat the Toreros 66-49 Wednesday night to remain undefeated. It was Wetzell's first double double at SDSU and his third in Division I. He had two double-doubles last year at Vanderbilt.
San Diego State, which improved to 4-0 for the first time since the 2014-15 season, avenged last year's 12-point home loss to the Toreros (2-4).
The 6-foot-10 New Zealander made 9-of-11 shots as he scored from inside and outside. He showed a nice touch with everything from a hook shot, a jump hook and a three-pointer. He made two of the Aztecs' final three shots of the first half and had 13 points in the first 20 minutes to help the Aztecs to a 34-26 lead. He then opened the second half with a hook shot and a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 13 points.
· San Diego State improves to 4-0 for the first time since the 2014-15 campaign when the Aztecs opened with wins over CSUN, No. 25 Utah, Bakersfield and vs. Brigham Young. The Aztecs went on to finish 27-9 and advanced to the third round of the 2015 NCAA tournament.
· San Diego State's 17-point victory is the largest in program history in the nine games played at Jenny Craig Pavilion.
· For just the fifth time in the last 35 seasons, SDSU has opened a campaign 4-0. On each of the previous four occasions, the Aztecs has advanced to postseason play (2 NCAA tournaments, 2 postseason NIT).
· This is the first time since 2010-11 that the Aztecs have opened 4-0 with at least two of those victories coming in road games.
· The Aztecs led 34-26 at the half at San Diego. In the Brian Dutcher era, SDSU is 42-8 when leading after 20 minutes, 4-0 this season and have won 10 straight when leading at intermission.
· Senior forward Yanni Wetzell recorded his third double-double with a career-high 20 points and a career-high 12 rebounds.
THE PROGRAM
· Head coach Brian Dutcher begins his third season at the helm after guiding San Diego State to a 21-13 record last year and is 43-24 in his first two seasons. In 2018, he was the only first-year coach to lead his team to the NCAA tournament and in 96 previous seasons of Aztec basketball, no head coach had won more games and/or won a conference title in his first year until Dutcher accomplished the feat. In addition, Dutcher is the first Aztecs' men's basketball coach to win 20+ games in each of his first two seasons.
· The Aztecs were picked to finish in second place in the preseason poll of the Mountain West media. SDSU has finished either first or second in the Mountain West preseason poll in each of the last six years. It is also the 11th time in the 21 seasons the Mountain West has been in existence that San Diego State has been picked first or second in the poll. Additionally, All 11 times have occurred in the last 15 years.
· Malachi Flynn, a junior transfer from Washington State who sat out last season due to NCAA Transfer Rules, was selected the league's Preseason Newcomer of the Year. In his final season at Washington State, Flynn averaged 15.8 points, 4.3 assists, and 3.4 rebounds per game.
· The 2019-20 Aztecs return six of their top nine scorers off a team that posted a 21-13 record and advanced to the championship game of the Mountain West Conference tournament in 2019. San Diego State is one of just nine schools nationally to win at least 19 games each of the last 14 seasons and is one of 29 schools to play in seven of the last 10 NCAA tournaments.
· In addition to the Mountain West media, which predicted the Aztecs would finish in second place, two other publications agreed that San Diego State would finish the regular season in second place - CBS Sports Network and Street & Smith Yearbooks.
· The Aztecs have four players on the roster that stand 6-10 and all are international students. Senior Nolan Narain is from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Graduate transfer Yanni Wetzell comes to The Mesa from Auckland, New Zealand and sophomores Joel Mensah and Nathan Mensah, who are not related, are from Korle Gonno and Labadi, Accra, Ghana, respectively.
· The Aztecs next game will be at 7 p.m., on Nov. 25 against Tennessee State on Steve Fisher Court at Viejas Arena.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
· San Diego State has advanced to the NCAA tournament seven of the last 10 seasons and has a NIT national semifinalist appearance as well during that span. One reason for the success is that Viejas Arena is a very tough place for opponents. Since the start of the 2009-10 campaign, and entering this season, San Diego State has the ninth-highest winning percentage in the country, amassing a 143-20 home record, winning 87.7 percent of its home games during that span.
· With the 2019-20 season underway, here are a few statistics to keep an eye on.
· In its last 168 home games, San Diego State has compiled a 148-20 mark, including a 71-9 record against non-conference competition at Viejas Arena.
· Since the start of the 2012-13 campaign, the Aztecs are 100-16 at home, including a 46-8 record in non-conference home contests during that stretch (44-6 against non-top 25 non-conference foes).
· Since the start of the 2012-13 campaign, the Aztecs are 100-16 at home, including a 46-8 record in non-conference home contests during that stretch (44-6 against non-top 25 non-conference foes).
· .The Aztecs are 38-7 in their last 48 non-conference home games.