SAN DIEGO - Competing in its third of four contests in 11 days, the San Diego State men's basketball team plays a neutral site game against the Saint Mary's Gaels on Saturday afternoon in the Jerry Colangelo Classic at the Footprint Center in Phoenix.
OFF THE BOUNCE
The Aztecs and Saint Mary's are meeting for the 14th time in school history, and for the third consecutive season and second straight at the Jerry Colangelo Classic, face off on a neutral floor.
With its 63-53 victory against the Gaels in the 2021 Jerry Colangelo Classic, San Diego State leads the all-time series 7-6 and has defeated Saint Mary's in each of the last three meetings.
San Diego State will don their turquoise Nike N7 uniforms for the game in a show of support and to honor Native American populations and Aboriginal youth. The Aztecs are 9-0 in games in which it plays in its Nike N7 kit but is wearing them away from Viejas Arena for the first time.
According to the Sagarin Ratings through the games of Dec. 7, San Diego State's schedule strength, which includes three games against top-25 opponents, is 20th-ranked in the nation.
Once again the San Diego State defense is playing at an elite level, according to Kenpom, which has the Aztecs ranked No. 19 nationally in adjusted defense. In addition, the SDSU offense, which ended the 2021-22 campaign ranked No. 167 in adjusted offense, slots in at No. 50 so far this year and is No. 27 in adjusted efficiency margin. Two of the three rankings, adjusted defense and margin, lead all Mountain West programs with adjusted offense ranked third in the league through the games of Dec. 7.
San Diego State remained in the Associated Press Top 25 & USA Today Coaches Poll this week, slotting in at No. 22 in each of the polls released on Dec. 5. Nationally ranked for a fifth consecutive week, the Aztecs are occupying the No. 22 ranking position for the fifth time in program history.
San Diego State is enjoying its 93rd appearance in the AP Top 25 Poll this week (all have occurred since the start of the 2010-11 campaign). Since the start of the '10-11 season, SDSU's 93 weeks in the top 25 are the 18th most nationally.
SDSU enters tonight's game with a 7-2 record, with its two losses coming against then No. 14 Arizona and No. 9 Arkansas at the 2022 Maui Jim Maui Invitational. The Aztecs have the No. 34-ranked strength of schedule in the nation according to ESPN Basketball Power Index.
In addition to its No. 34 strength of schedule, SDSU is ranked No. 24 in strength of record and No. 35 in BPI.
San Diego State, which in 2021-22 reached the Mountain West championship game for the fifth time in head coach Brian Dutcher's five seasons, looks for its unprecedented 15th Mountain West men's basketball title. Entering the 2022-23 season, San Diego State, the most successful program in conference history, has won eight regular season and six Mountain West tournament titles.
For the fourth time since the start of the 2010-11 season, San Diego State entered a season ranked in the preseason AP Top 25 Poll. The Aztecs No. 19 ranking in the initial poll is the second highest in program history, trailing only the 2014-15 preseason poll in which it was No. 16. Since the start of the 2010-11 and at the conclusion of last week's action, SDSU had appeared in the AP poll for 93 weeks, more than any program in the state of California; ahead of UCLA (72 weeks), Saint Mary's (44 weeks), Southern California (35 weeks) and California (11 weeks).
In its second game against Troy, in the history of the Aztec program, No. 22 San Diego State walked away with a 60-55 victory to pick up the equalizing game in the all-time series. The Aztecs 92.3 percent shooting from the line (12-of-13) was the season best for the team. Since the start of the Dutcher/Fisher era it was the 17th time the team has shot at least .923 from the charity stripe on a minimum of 13 attempts and in those games SDSU is 16-1 and has won the last 16 in a row.
Senior Matt Bradley led the Aztecs with 19 points. It was the third time this season he has paced SDSU in the scoring column and the 65th time in his college career. In 126 career games, Bradley has reached double figure scoring 101 times. His .700 field goal percentage (7-of-10) marks the fifth time in his college career he has shot at least 70.0 percent on a minimum of 10 attempts, and the third time he has done it as an Aztec.
With 14 points, senior Darrion Trammell reached double-digit scoring for the third time in his last four games as an Aztec and 54th time in 62 college contests. He led the team in assists (4) for the seventh time in eight appearances as an Aztec and for the 55th time in his collegiate career.
Brian Dutcher is now in his sixth season as San Diego State's head coach and his 24th season on the Aztec sidelines. In his five-plus seasons as head coach, he has led the Aztecs to four conference titles, five Mountain West championship game appearances, a 126-42 overall record, and has been named the national coach of the year and twice the Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year.
No. 22 Men's Hoops Play Saint Mary's Saturday in Phoenix
