SAN DIEGO – After splitting two games in three days, finishing with an 80-55 victory over UNLV on Monday night, San Diego State men's basketball plays its third game in five days, concluding the trio of contests at Utah State on Wednesday evening. The game will be broadcast on FS1 and is scheduled to tip at 8:30 p.m. MT.
OFF THE BOUNCE
The two teams that have met in the Mountain West Conference championship game each of the last three seasons meet for the first time this season when San Diego State plays at Utah State on Wednesday evening.
This marks the third game in five days for the Aztecs, who had not played in two weeks and played just three times in the 35 days prior to this stretch.
San Diego State and Utah State are meeting for the 23rd time, with the Aztecs owning a 14-8 series advantage.
The Aztecs won 11 consecutive meetings from 2014-2019, but the teams have split the last six encounters.
This will be the fifth straight meeting between the team that has not been played in San Diego (2020 Mountain West tourney, 2021 two games in Logan, 2021 Mountain West tourney and 2022 in Logan).
Since March 14, 2019, San Diego State is 19-4 (82.6 percent) in road games. That is the third-highest winning percentage nationally, trailing only Gonzaga (18-1, 94.7 percent) and Baylor (21-3, 87.5 percent).
San Diego State bounced back from a disappointing 42-37 loss to Boise State on Saturday by smashing UNLV, 80-55, on Monday at Viejas.
San Diego State set season highs for points (80) and steals (15), shot 52.5 percent from the field and a +10-rebound margin.
The Aztecs have won 28 straight games when outrebounding its opponent and has won 27 consecutive games when shooting 50 percent or better.
With the victory, the two-time outright defending Mountain West Conference regular season champion Aztecs improve to 3-1 in conference play, with two of those victories coming by 25 or more points. SDSU, which leads the conference in scoring margin (+14.3, Boise State is second at +7.8) trails Boise State (6-0) and Wyoming (4-0) by one-game in the loss column.
San Diego State improves to 12-1 in its last 13 games immediately following a loss and has won 19-straight when the next game immediately following the loss is a home contest.
Since Dec. 8, San Diego State is 6-1 and leads the nation in fewest points allowed (52.4), opponent field goal percentage (33.6), opponent effective field goal percentage (39.4), opponent two-point field goal percentage (37.5) and 21st in three-point field goal percentage (28.1).
Once again this season San Diego State ranks among the nation's best in defense. The Aztecs are 2nd in scoring defense (56.3), 1st in effective field goal percentage (41.5), 4th in field goal percentage defense (36.5) and 11th in three-point field goal percentage defense (27.7). In addition, the Aztecs are 2nd in Kenpom adjusted defensive efficiency (86.3).
Senior guard Matt Bradley scored a season-high 27 points, on 10-of-11 shooting from the field in the victory Monday over the Rebels. In his 100th career game, Bradley posted his fifth 20-point game of the season and the 28th of his career. His 10-for-11 performance from the field was the best by an Aztec player (min. 11 FGA) Malcolm Thomas also shot 90.9 percent (10-for-11) against Northern Arizona on Nov. 28, 2009.
Senior guard Trey Pulliam posted 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting and added two rebounds and two assists in 25 minutes of action. The senior, who is coming off an illness, surpassed his combined point total from his previous three games (10 points).
SDSU head coach Brian Dutcher is in his fifth season as San Diego State's head coach and his 23rd season on the Aztec sidelines. In his four plus seasons as head coach, he has led the Aztecs to four conference titles, a 107-35 overall record and has already been named the national coach of the year and twice named Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year. Among first time head coaches who started in the 2017-18 season, Dutcher's 107 wins are the most and he is the only head coach in the group to reach triple-digit victories.
-SDSU-
Aztecs Wrap Up Whirlwind Week at Utah State
