LAS VEGAS – The 3-seed San Diego State men's basketball team will face 6-seed Fresno State on Thursday evening in its quarterfinal round game of the 2022 Air Force Reserve Mountain West Men's Basketball Championship. The tip is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. PT and will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
OFF THE BOUNCE
Riding a Mountain West Conference best four game win streak, San Diego State, the tournament's third-seed and defending tournament champions, opens play against the sixth-seed Fresno State in Thursday's fourth quarterfinal round game at 8:30 p.m. PT.
This marks just the second time since joining the Mountain West Conference that the Aztecs have been the third seed (2007). The Aztecs are 0-1 in the event on the third line.
San Diego State has won this event a record six times (2002, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2018 and 2021).
San Diego State has won the event as the one seed (twice), two seed, four seed and five seed (twice).
Amazingly, San Diego State has played for the tournament title in seven of the last eight years and in 11 of the last 13 seasons (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021).
The Aztecs are 17-5 in the quarterfinal round of the event and have won their last 14 quarterfinal games.
San Diego State has opened conference tournament play with a victory in each of its last 14 league tourney appearances. That is tied for the fourth longest active win streak nationally.
Overall, San Diego State is 37-16 in the Mountain West tournament for a winning percentage of 69.8 percent. The Aztecs' 37 tournament wins are the most by any team - current or former - in league history. This is particularly impressive because 10 of SDSU's 53 tournament games have been played on the road (8-2 at UNLV), while UNLV has played 39 of its 46 tournament games at home.
San Diego State owns 39 victories in Thomas & Mack Center since the start of the 2008-09 campaign.
That is the most victories by any school in any venue in which it has not played a home game in the past 14 seasons. What is particularly impressive is that 17 of those 39 victories came as the road team playing at UNLV. Villanova is second with 32 victories at Madison Square Garden.
San Diego State won its 21st game in the season finale, marking the fifth straight season the Aztecs have reached that milestone (every year under Brian Dutcher), with a 79-78 victory at Nevada on Saturday. The game concluded a stretch of three games (two on the road) in six days and seven games in 15 days to end the regular season for the Aztecs.
San Diego State has won four straight games and is 9-1 in its last 10 games.
San Diego State is playing its best basketball of the season. The Aztecs are 10-2 in their last 12 games with just a pair of one-point road losses at NET No. 28 Colorado State (57-58) and at NET No. 30 Boise State (57-58).
San Diego State continues to boast an impressive NCAA metric profile. The Aztecs are 29th in the NET (2nd in the MWC), 23rd in KenPom (tops in the MWC), 29th in BPI (tops in the MWC) and 31st in Sagarin Rating (tops in the MWC).
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 117-38 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 117 wins are the most and he is one of two head coaches in the group to reach triple-digit victories (also: Bob Richey of Furman with 109 victories).
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Aztecs Face Fresno State In MW Quarterfinal
