Dec. 29, 2014
DAVE WOJCIK WEEKLY PRESSER
SPARTANS TIP OFF MW PLAY THIS WEEK WITH UTAH STATE AND WYOMING
The San José State University men's basketball team begins Mountain West play this week with a New Year's Eve matchup at Utah State at 7:00 p.m. MT. Then, Wyoming comes into The Event Center on Saturday, January 3, for a 7:00 p.m. PT tip. Tickets are available for Saturday's game at the Spartan Ticket Office.
SAN JOSÉ STATE (2-10, 0-0 MW) at UTAH STATE (7-5, 0-0 MW)
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 31, 7:00 PM MT
DEE GLEN SMITH SPECTRUM (10,270)
LOGAN, UTAH
SAN JOSÉ STATE (2-10, 0-0 MW) at WYOMING (11-2, 0-0 MW)
SATURDAY, JANUARY 3, 7:00 p.m. PT
THE EVENT CENTER (5,000)
SAN JOSE, CALIF.
TICKETS
COVERAGE
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LAST TIME OUT
San José State has played one game in the last 17 days and it was an 82-53 loss on the road at Washington State on December 21. Darryl Gaynor II scored the Spartans' individual season-high of 24 points in the loss. Ivo Basor finished with a season-high nine rebounds.
GAYNOR GOES TWO STRAIGHT WITH 20+ POINTS
Darryl Gaynor II has put together back-to-back 20-point games in the Spartans' outings against Seattle U (12/13) and Washington State (12/21). The freshman from Las Vegas, Nev., started and played a season-high 37 minutes in both games.
EFFICIENT SHOOTING LEADS TO CAREER BEST FOR MITCHELL
Sophomore Brandon Mitchell notched a career-best 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting against Washington State on December 21. He also matched a career-high with his seven rebounds.
BASOR INCREASES PRESENCE ON THE GLASS
Junior college transfer Ivo Basor came up with a season-high nine rebounds against Washington State (12/21) and is averaging seven boards over the last three contests.
THE MW AT A GLANCE
Four Mountain West (MW) teams have double-digit win totals heading into conference play, including the 24th-ranked and undefeated Colorado State Rams (13-0). Wyoming (11-2), Boise State (10-3) and #23-San Diego State (10-3) round out the top four teams in the MW. Eight of the league's 11 teams have a winning record heading into conference play.
ABOUT UTAH STATE
The Aggies (7-5) have won four of their last five games coming into the New Years Eve matchup with SJSU. Jalen Moore and David Collette lead the way in scoring for USU at 15.3 and 14.6 points per game respectively. Utah State is 5-2 when playing at home in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum this season. The Aggies are coached by Stew Morrill in his 17th season.
LAST MEETING & SERIES HISTORY WITH UTAH STATE
Utah State beat San José State 75-58 in the last meeting between the teams on March 1, 2014 in The Event Center. D.J. Brown led the Spartans with 15 points and Spencer Butterfield led the Aggies with 22. San José State's last victory over Utah State was February 18, 2008. Since then, USU has won 14 straight and are 20-1 versus SJSU dating back to the 2005-06 season. The all-time series stands in the Aggies' favor 53-21.
SHORTHANDED SPARTANS ADD HELP
The Spartans made two additions to the lineup before the December 13 contest versus Seattle U. Andrew Vollert and Tyler Winston, two letterwinners on the SJSU football team, suited up and played 30 and 21 minutes respectively. Vollert will remain with the team on a game-by-game basis. Winston will not play again. The additions were made to help counter season-ending injuries to Jalen James and Leon Bahner as well as the indefinite suspension of: Rashad Muhammad, Jordan Baker, Frank Rogers, Jaleel Williams and Matt Pollard, for violating a team rule.
SPARTANS FALL TO SEATTLE U, 54-38
San José State fell in their last competition 54-38 at the hands of Seattle U at home on December 13. Due to injuries and suspensions the Spartans were down to eight players. While a deliberate offense kept them in the game during the first half, 29-20 at the break, Seattle U ran away with the game in the second period for the win.
SANTA CLARA EDGES SJSU, 61-50
San José State shot 57.9 percent in the first half, but the team's 20 turnovers were too many in a 61-50 loss to Santa Clara last Saturday night (12/6). Rashad Muhammadscored the first 13 points of the game for SJSU, which got out to it's best start of the 2014-15 season in the first half. Muhammad led the Spartans in scoring for the second game in a row.
SPARTANS WIND UP 0-3 AT WOODEN LEGACY
San José State lost all three games at the Wooden Legacy last week, extending the team's losing streak to six games. The Spartans fell to tournament champion Washington (78-56), Western Michigan (79-60) and Princeton (69-54).
SINGLE-GAME & SEASON TICKETS ON SALE NOW
For tickets to all San José State men's basketball games, call the Spartan Ticket Office at408-924-7589 or visit the tickets section on SJSUSpartans.com. The Spartan Ticket Office is your one-stop shop for all single-game tickets and season ticket plans. Also see the Season Ticket Membership Brochure for information on this year's variable ticket pricing.