San Diego State Aztecs men's basketball

San Diego State Aztecs
men's basketball
San Diego State Aztecs; men's basketball
	2021–22 San Diego State Aztecs men's basketball team
University	San Diego State University
First season	1921–22
All-time record	1,485–1,125–1 (.569)
Head coach	Brian Dutcher (4th season)
Conference	Mountain West
Location	San Diego, California
Arena	Viejas Arena ; (capacity: 12,414)
Nickname	Aztecs
Student section	The Show
Colors	Scarlet and black;
Uniforms
Home	Away
Alternate	Alternate
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
	2011, 2014
NCAA tournament round of 32
	1975, 1976, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015
NCAA tournament appearances
	1975, 1976, 1985, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2021, 2022
Conference tournament champions
	Mountain West; 2002, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2018, 2021; WAC; 1985; PCAA; 1976
Conference regular season champions
	Mountain West; 2006, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2020, 2021; PCAA; 1977, 1978; CCAA; 1941, 1942, 1954, 1957, 1958, 1967, 1968; SCIAC; 1932, 1934, 1937, 1939; SCJCC; 1923, 1925

For information on all San Diego State University sports, see San Diego State Aztecs

The San Diego State Aztecs men's basketball team is the college basketball program that represents San Diego State University, located in San Diego, California. The team currently competes in the Mountain West Conference (MW) and plays its home games at Viejas Arena. The Aztecs began play in 1921 and have been to 13 NCAA Division I tournaments and 6 NIT tournaments since joining NCAA Division I in 1969. The team previously reached 3 NCAA Division II tournaments and 6 NAIA tournaments, winning the latter in 1941. Since joining the Mountain West Conference, the Aztecs have won 6 MW tournament championships and 8 MW regular season titles. Former players who went on to achieve notable success in the NBA include Michael Cage and Kawhi Leonard. Other former players have gone on to achieve their most notable successes in other areas, such as Art Linkletter and Tony Gwynn.

Team history

The Aztecs first began play during the 1921–22 basketball season. The team played that season, as well as the next three, as part of the Southern California Junior College Conference due to proximity to other schools, despite the fact that that SDSU (then known as San Diego Normal School) was not a junior college itself.^[2] The Aztecs joined the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) in 1926 following a season as an independent, and competed in the NAIA until 1956, when they transitioned to the newly-founded NCAA Division II. They competed in 6 NAIA Men's Basketball Championships. Finishing as runners up in 1939 and in 1940, the Aztecs finally prevailed and won the 1941 NAIA Men's Basketball Tournament.^[3] After competing in NCAA Division II from 1956 until 1969 they became an NCAA Division I school in the Fall of 1969. The Aztecs moved from the Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA), which is now known as the Big West Conference, to the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in 1978.^[4] In 1999, the Aztecs left the WAC and became a charter member of the Mountain West Conference.^[5] Prior to entering the Mountain West, the team had been to 3 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournaments. During their time in the MWC, the Aztecs have won several conference championships and have been to 9 NCAA tournaments and 4 NIT tournaments.^[5] In the 2010–11 season, the Aztecs were ranked as high as 4th in the nation and won their first ever games in the NCAA tournament, reaching the Sweet Sixteen.^[6] Following the 2013–14 season, the team reached its second Sweet Sixteen. In the 2019–20 season, the Aztecs finished with a 30–2 record for their best winning percentage in team history. The team spent 7 straight weeks in the top 5 of both the AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll, finishing the season at #6 in both polls. The 2020 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament was cancelled at the end of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rivalries

The Aztecs have three major rivalries, the UNLV Rebels, the USD Toreros, and the BYU Cougars. Their primary rival is the UNLV Rebels, especially in recent years with some memorable showdowns. The USD Toreros are the Aztecs crosstown rivals and play them near-annually through non-conference play, also known as the City Championship. The Aztecs rivalry with the BYU Cougars has been partially dormant since 2011, when the Cougars left the MWC for the WCC. The teams still play occasionally in non-conference games.

Facilities

Viejas Arena at Aztec Bowl

The Aztecs play their home games at Viejas Arena (formerly Cox Arena), which is located on the west side of campus on the footprint of the former Aztec Bowl, where SDSU football played its home games from 1935 to 1966. Viejas Arena opened in 1997 as Cox Arena and seats 12,414 for basketball games.^[7] In 2009, the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians purchased the naming rights for ten years.^[8] The arena features an octagonal scoreboard with video-replay system, that includes up-to-the-minute statistical information on individual players.^[8] The facility is also equipped with seven locker rooms, two of which are complete with team rooms, equipment rooms, and a shared training room.^[8]

Prior to the opening of the arena, men's basketball played its home games primarily at Peterson Gymnasium (located across the street from Viejas Arena and the current home to the Aztec women's volleyball team), and, for more than 30 years, played on-and-off at the San Diego Sports Arena.^[9]^[10]^[11]

Jeff Jacobs JAM Center

In 2015, the San Diego State Athletics Department opened an on-campus state-of-the-art practice facility, The Jeff Jacobs JAM Center, for the Aztec men's basketball and women's basketball teams.^[12]

Head coaches

As of the 2019 Media Guide

Name	Seasons	Record	Percentage
C.E. Peterson	1921–1926	70–30	.700
Tom McMullen	1926–1929	23–17	.575
Morris Gross	1929–1942	190–85	.690
Don DeLauer	1942–1943	14–9	.609
Alex Alexander	1943–1945	17–26	.395
Charlie Smith	1945–1948	45–36	.563
George Ziegenfuss	1948–1969	316–229	.580
Dick Davis	1969–1974	65–67	.492
Tim Vezie	1974–1979	77–62	.554
Smokey Gaines	1979–1987	112–117	.489
Jim Brandenburg	1987–1991	52–87	.356
Jim Harrick Jr. (Interim coach)	1992	0–7	.000
Tony Fuller	1992–1994	20–37	.351
Fred Trenkle	1994–1999	55–83	.399
*Steve Fisher	1999–2017	386–209	.648
Brian Dutcher	2017–Present	96–31	.756

Through March 19th 2021.

Postseason

NCAA Division I tournament results

The Aztecs have appeared in the NCAA Division I Tournament 14 times, with a combined record of 6–14. They have reached the Sweet Sixteen twice, in 2011 and 2014. Additionally, at 30-2 and ranked in the Top 10 they were considered a virtual lock for the 2020 NCAA Tournament, which was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Year	Seed	Round	Opponent	Result
1975		Round of 32	#16 UNLV	L 80–90
1976		Round of 32	#5 UCLA	L 64–74
1985	13 W	Round of 64	(4) #9 UNLV	L 80–85
2002	13 M	Round of 64	(4) #13 Illinois	L 64–93
2006	11 W	Round of 64	(6) Indiana	L 83–87
2010	11 M	Round of 64	(6) #15 Tennessee	L 59–62
2011	2 W	Round of 64 Round of 32 Sweet Sixteen	(15) Northern Colorado (7) Temple (3) #9 Connecticut	W 68–50 W 71–64 ^2OT L 67–74
2012	6 M	Round of 64	(11) NC State	L 65–79
2013	7 S	Round of 64 Round of 32	(10) Oklahoma (15) Florida Gulf Coast	W 70–55 L 71–81
2014	4 W	Round of 64 Round of 32 Sweet Sixteen	(13) New Mexico State (12) North Dakota State (1) #4 Arizona	W 73–69 ^OT W 63–44 L 64–70
2015	8 S	Round of 64 Round of 32	(9) St. John's (1) #4 Duke	W 76–64 L 49–68
2018	11 W	Round of 64	(6) #21 Houston	L 65–67
2021	6 MW	Round of 64	(11) Syracuse	L 62–78
2022	8 MW	Round of 64	(9) Creighton	L 69–72 ^OT

NCAA Tournament seeding history

The NCAA began seeding the tournament with the 1979 edition.

Years →	'85	'02	'06	'10	'11	'12	'13	'14	'15	'18	'21	'22
Seeds →	13	13	11	11	2	6	7	4	8	11	6	8

NIT results

The Aztecs have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) six times, with a combined record of 8–6.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1982	First Round	UC Irvine	L 69–70
2003	First Round Second Round	UC Santa Barbara Texas Tech	W 67–62 L 57–48
2007	First Round Second Round	Missouri State Syracuse	W 74–70 L 64–80
2008	First Round	Florida	L 49–73
2009	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals	Weber State Kansas State Saint Mary's Baylor	W 65–49 W 70–52 W 70–66 L 62–76
2016	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals	IPFW Washington Georgia Tech George Washington	W 79–55 W 93–78 W 72–56 L 46–65

NCAA Division II tournament results

The Aztecs appeared in the NCAA Division II Tournament three times, with a combined record of 5–3.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1957	Regional Semifinals Regional Finals Elite Eight	Chapman Regis Cal State Los Angeles	W 75–56 W 81–78 L 55–57
1967	Regional Semifinals Regional Finals Elite Eight	Portland State Nevada Southern Illinois State	W 101–73 W 88–71 L 76–77 ^3OT
1968	Regional Semifinals Regional Finals	UC Irvine UC Davis	L 69–78 W 79–72

NAIA tournament results

The Aztecs have appeared in the NAIA Tournament six times. Their combined record is 15–5. They were NAIA National Champions in 1941.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1939	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals National Championship	Northern State East Texas State Manchester Peru State Southwestern (KS)	W 49–25 W 41–36 W 49–41 W 49–39 L 31–32
1940	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals National Championship	Central State(OK) Appalachian State Pittsburg State Delta State Tarkio	W 36–35 W 48–46 W 32–30 W 30–28 L 42–52
1941	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals National Championship	Western Montana Culver-Stockton Texas Western West Texas State Murray State	W 46–29 W 46–41 ^OT W 44–42 W 43–40 W 36–34
1942	First Round Second Round	Chadron State Bemidji State	W 36–29 L 32–41
1954	First Round	Pasadena	L 87–90
1956	First Round Second Round	Alderson-Broaddus Gustavus Adolphus	W 77–64 L 60–69

Retired jerseys

On January 16, 2020, the Aztecs announced that they would be retiring former small forward Kawhi Leonard's jersey 15 on February 1, 2020. Leonard is the first player in Aztecs history to have his jersey retired.^[13]^[14]

No.	Player	Position	Career	Year of Retirement
San Diego State Aztecs retired numbers
15	Kawhi Leonard	SF	2009–2011	2020

Team records

All-time record vs. current MWC teams

Official record (including any NCAA imposed vacates and forfeits) against all current MWC opponents as of the completion of the 2020–2021 season:

Opponent	Games Played	Won	Lost	Percentage	Streak	First Meeting
Air Force	86	62	24	.721	Won 6	1973–74
Boise State	26	16	10	.615	Lost 3	1976–77
Colorado State	91	48	43	.527	Won 1	1961–62
Fresno State	125	69	56	.552	Won 7	1939–40
Nevada	30	24	6	.800	Won 8	1956–57
New Mexico	91	43	48	.473	Won 3	1975–76
San Jose State	80	45	35	.563	Won 9	1936–37
UNLV	77	40	37	.519	Won 3	1965–66
Utah State	23	15	8	.652	Won 1	1962–63
Wyoming	89	48	41	.539	Won 8	1978–79
Totals	697	394	303	.565

Through March 12th, 2022.

^[15] ^[16]^{[circular reference]} ^[17]

Career Leaders (DI Era)