Feb. 6, 2017
SPARTANS GOING FOR THREE STRAIGHT TUESDAY VERSUS AZTECSSan José State has a chance to win its third straight Mountain West game, something the program hasn't done since joining the conference in 2013-14. The Spartans come in rolling after wins over UNLV and New Mexico, and fans won't want to miss the 8:00 p.m. (PT) tip off against San Diego State on Tuesday night. Tickets are available via the Spartan Ticket Office. Visit the office's website for one of the hottest deals of the season, or call them now at 408-924-7589. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network and can be heard live on KLIV 1590 AM radio with Just Allegri's play-by-play call.Game #22San José State (11-10, 4-6 MW) vs. San Diego State ( 13-9, 5-5 MW)Tuesday, February 7, 2017, 8:00 p.m. (PT)The Event Center (5,000)San Jose, Calif.TV: CBS Sports NetworkComcast: 732Dish Network: 158DirecTV: 221Radio: KLIV 1590 AM, KSJS 90.5 FM
PARTICIPATE WITH YOUR SPARTANS IN COACHES VS. CANCER CHALLENGE
The American Cancer Society, the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the nation's premier college basketball programs including your Spartans are teaming up for the 2017 Coaches vs Cancer 3-Point Challenge! Teams from coast to coast are squaring off to see who can raise the most money from behind the arc. Team up with San José State men's basketball during the month of February by going online today and making your pledge for every made three-point basket during February.
SPARTANS GET FIRST WIN AGAINST NEW MEXICOSan José State used a 14-2 run midway through the second half to stun New Mexico on its home floor, and came away with a 78-68 win over the Lobos. Ryan Welage played the best game of his young career hitting 4-of-6 from downtown, scoring a team-high 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Terrell Brown made his second consecutive start and put up a career-high 17 points in the win. It was San José State's first win against New Mexico in program history (14 games) and the team's fourth Mountain West win matching the total from all of last season.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE WINThere is a broad scope of significance tying into San José State's win at New Mexico. It was SJSU's fourth road win against a top-100 RPI opponent since 2001- New Mexico came into the game with an RPI of 72. The win put San José State above .500 in the month of February for the first time in six years, since Feb. 26, 2011. The Spartans' nine wins over Division I opponents this year are the most since 2011. Beating the Lobos on the road for the second straight Mountain West win - SJSU beat UNLV seven days prior, 76-72 - completes one of the best week-long period in a very long time or perhaps in program history along with:3/3/94 80-74 win at UNLV3/5/94 71-67 overtime win at New Mexico State12/2/86 72-63 home win over Stanford12/9/86 57-56 win at USC12/19/85 58-55 win at Santa Clara12/21/85 64-49 home win over Washington State1984 Utah Classic67-62 win over Ohio U.72-70 win over host Utah1979 Cable Car Classic83-79 win over #14-Virginia77-62 win over host Santa Clara2/21/69 73-69 overtime win vs. #2-Santa Clara2/22/69 75-66 win at USFSPARTANS GO FOR THREE IN A ROWA win on Tuesday would give San José State its first three-game winning streak during conference play since joining the Mountain West. SJSU hasn't won three in a row during league play since taking down Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State and Hawai'i all in one week (Jan. 21-28) in 2011.LAST TIME AGAINST SAN DIEGO STATEThe Spartans lost 76-61 to the Aztecs earlier this year on January 10 in San Diego. Foul trouble hurt SJSU from the jump to the point where Brandon Clarke played just six first-half minutes and the Spartans went into the break trailing by 19 points. Clarke played all 20 minutes of the second half when the Spartans outscored the Aztecs 38-34. He finished with a game-high 25 points, but San Diego State was balanced with five players in double-figure scoring. Max Hoetzel, Trey Kell and Jeremy Hemsley all finished with 12 points to lead SDSU.SERIES HISTORY WITH THE AZTECSSan Diego State controls the all-time series by a slim margin, 36-34 - but has dominated recent history by winning seven straight. SJSU's last win in the series was in 1999 in San Jose by a score of 82-57. The last time these teams met inside the Event Center, San José State trailed by four at halftime before SDSU ran away with a 78-56 win.WELAGE FINDING HIS GROOVEIn the last two games Ryan Welage scored 19 points in the win over UNLV (1/28) and 20 points in the win at New Mexico (2/4). Welage was shooting 32.5 percent through the first eight conference games, before hitting 15-for-25 (.600) combined in the two Spartan wins. What the numbers don't show you are the timeliness of Welage's baskets, such as the 3-pointer which broke a 63-63 tie with 2:49 to go against the Rebels. He hit a handful of big shots at UNM, but it was a 3-ball coming out of a timeout at the 10:02 mark which put fans at The Pit back in their seats and ignited a 14-2 Spartans run.SPARTANS TURN Terrell Brown LOOSEFreshman point guard Terrell Brown has started the last two games and played 38 minutes in both winning efforts. Before last week, Brown was averaging 15.6 minutes per game in a reserve role. In two games against Colorado State (1/25) and UNLV (1/28) Brown was 6-for-22 from the floor, but showed maturity in his third game with extended minutes and went 5-for-9 shooting and a career-high 17 points at New Mexico. The 6-foot-2 guard adds a quick attack to the rim and showed that he has range too when he connected on a pair of threes against the Lobos. Brown and forward Brandon Clarke were an excellent 1-2 punch down the stretch against UNM, and Brown ended that game with five assists and zero turnovers.CLARKE LEADS ALL SCORERS IN MW PLAYBrandon Clarke enters Tuesday's game as the Mountain West's leading scoring during league play at 22.7 points per game. Clarke has scored 20 points or more in six conference games including a career-high 36 in a win at Air Force (1/14). One of those efforts was on the road at San Diego State where he put in 25 points in 26 minutes. Clarke is also the most efficient shooter during league play at 64.0 percent (96-150). All 10 conference games are part of a current 13-game streak where Clarke has been 50 percent or better shooting from the floor.OTHER TOP RANKS FOR CLARKEClarke has worked his way up to fourth in rebounding during MW play at 8.8 per game. Part of that is his effort on the offensive boards which at 2.9 per game he's tied for the league lead. Clarke has proven that he's one of the leagues best players on the defensive end as well with his league-leading 2.9 blocked shots per game. He set a school record with seven blocks against UNLV (1/28), giving him six games this year with at least five swats.