SAN DIEGO – The men's basketball programs at No. 18/20 San Diego State and Brigham Young are set for the 74 meeting in its all-time series on Friday, Dec. 18 at 2 p.m. on Steve Fisher Court at Viejas Arena. The Aztecs will look to improve to 6-0 on the season and defeat its second West Coast Conference opponent in its last three games, having taken care of Pepperdine, 65-60. on Dec. 6.
SCENE SETTER
-After climbing from No. 24 to No. 18 in the AP Top 25 Poll this week (the largest upward move in the poll), San Diego State returns home for a Friday matinee against long-time foe Brigham Young.
-San Diego State win streaks on the line Friday: 17-game win streak in non-conference regular-season (longest in the nation), 11-game non-conference homecourt win streak, eight-game win streak in games played in December, five-game homecourt win streak, five-game win streak overall and a four-game win streak against teams from the West Coast Conference.
-San Diego State is 5-0 this season, with victories over the teams picked to finish first (No. 22 UCLA by 15 points) and second (at No. 23 Arizona State by 12 points) in the Pac-12, a win over two-time defending Big West Conference champion (UC Irvine by 19 points) and a Pepperdine team that already owns a win over California.
-Of the 351 Division I teams, 319 have played at least one game. Of those, 58 have yet to lose a game. Last season, the Aztecs were the last team in the nation to suffer a loss, wining the first 26 games of the season before finally putting a one in the loss column on Feb. 22.
-San Diego State owns a 35-2 record since the start of the 2019-20 campaign. That is tops in the country (Gonzaga is second at 34-2).
-Through Monday's games, the Aztecs were ranked 4th in Strength of Record, 13th in Sagarin Ratings and 22nd in RPI.
-San Diego State is one of five teams in the nation to have two wins over AP Top 25 teams this season (the others: Kansas, Marquette, Missouri, Villanova).
-The Aztecs have outscored their opponents this season, 378-285, for a scoring margin of +18.6. That is tied for 42nd nationally but is tied for 18th among teams that have played at least five games despite SDSU's challenging early season schedule.
-SDSU's turnover margin of +6.0 is tied for 10th nationally among teams that have played at least five times and 25th nationally overall.
-San Diego State is again one of the elite defensive teams in the nation. The Aztecs are holding the opposition to 57.0 points per game (20th nationally), 37.5 percent field goal shooting and are forcing 17.2 turnovers per game. Kenpom has SDSU's defensive efficiency as the 19th best in the country.
-San Diego State has held three of its opponents this season to less than 40 percent field goal shooting. The Aztecs are 51-3 under Brian Dutcher with 29 consecutive wins holding the opponents at or below that shooting percentage.
-Last time out, San Diego State recorded its second victory over an AP Top 25 team this season, dominating 24th-ranked Arizona State, 80-68, in Tempe. The Aztecs led by as many as 20 points in the second half before settling for the 12-point win. SDSU held Arizona State to just seven two-point field goals in the game and had a 36-8 advantage in points in the paint.
-Senior guard Jordan Schakel earned Mountain West Conference Player of the Week honors and was tabbed as the National Player of the Week by the NCAA's Andy Katz after scoring a career-high 25 points in San Diego State's victory at No. 23 Arizona State. The sharp-shooter connected on 9-of-15 field goal attempts, including 5-of-9 from bonus distance in the Aztec win.
-Junior forward Nathan Mensah had his best outing of the season, recorded his fourth career double-double with career-highs in points (17) and rebounds (15). He joins former Aztec Yanni Wetzell as the only Aztecs to produce a 15-15 game in the last 18 seasons.
No. 18/20 Aztecs Set To Host Brigham Young On Friday
