SAN DIEGO - Following its 65-60 victory over the Nevada Wolf Pack on Thursday evening, the San Diego State men's basketball team eyes a series sweep on Saturday night in Viejas Arena.
SCENE SETTER
San Diego State concludes a stretch of four games in eight days with a home contest against Nevada at 6 p.m. PT Saturday.
The Aztecs a 20-6 series advantage, including a 10-1 home record against the Wolf Pack (Nevada's lone win over SDSU in San Diego came an Nov. 14, 1998). San Diego State has won the last four meetings between the teams and seven of the last eight encounters.
San Diego State has handed Nevada seven of its last 24 losses. Since March 3, 2018, San Diego State is 7-1 against Nevada, while the rest of the country is 17-58.
The Aztecs are currently 15th in Sagarin Ratings, 13th in RPI, 29th in BPI, 30th in the NET, 34th in Kenpom and 36th in Strength of Record.
San Diego State's 8-2 record is particularly impressive when considering the Aztecs nine Division I opponents are a combined 58-20, 74.4 percent (when factoring out 2-7 against San Diego State). All nine Aztec Division I games are against teams that own a .500 or better record when factoring out the game against SDSU.
San Diego State ranks among the national leaders in several categories including: 15th in scoring defense* (60.1), 22nd in Kenpom adjusted defensive efficiency* (91.7), 25th in field goal percentage defense (38.5), 51st in turnover margin (+3.4), 50th in steals per game* (8.3) and 60th in turnover per game (11.8). * - indicates leads Mountain West Conference in category
San Diego State student-athletes are atop the following Mountain West Conference stat categories: Matt Mitchell - free throw attempts (67), Trey Pulliam - assist-to-turnover ratio (3.00) and Jordan Schakel - three-point field goal percentage (46.2).
San Diego State won its second game in four days on Thursday with a 65-60 victory over Nevada at Viejas Arena. The Aztecs used a 7-0 run over the final 2:04 of the contest to get the victory. Schakel connected on a go ahead three-point field goal with 2:04 to play while Nathan Mensah and Mitchell each hit a pair of free throws down the stretch to secure the victory.
On a night when the Aztecs struggled from the floor, the defense came to play The Aztecs held Nevada to just 60 points. That matched the lowest output for the Wolf Pack since SDSU posted a 68-55 win over Nevada last season (Jan. 18, 2020). The Aztecs limited Nevada to 36.8 percent shooting. The Aztecs have won 31 straight games when holding the opposition to 40 percent or less from the field.
Mitchell scored 18 second half points en route to a 20-point, 10 rebound performance. It is the second career double-double for the senior forward who posted his 26th career game with at least 15 points (SDSU is 24-2 in those games).
Mensah had 16 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots in the win over the Wolf Pack. The junior forward has scored in double figures in consecutive games for the third time in his career (he has never scored 10+ points in three straight games). In his last two games, Mensah has 27 points, 15 rebounds and five blocked shots.
Senior guard Trey Pulliam scored 10 points on Thursday for his second career double-digit scoring effort.
Following the against the Wolf Pack, SDSU is scheduled to play four consecutive road games. That stretch starts with a rematch of the 2020 Mountain West Conference tournament championship game as the Aztecs will face Utah State next Thursday and Saturday in Logan.
Men's Hoops Eyes Sweep Of Nevada On Saturday
