SAN JOSE, Calif. - After topping Pepperdine to close out the 2019 calendar year, the Spartans will play host to New Mexico to ring in the New Year at 7 PM on Wednesday at the Provident Credit Union Event Center.
SAN JOSE STATE SPARTANS (4-10, 0-2 MW)
PPG: 66.9 | FG%: 39.3 | 3FG%: 29.3 | FT%: 68.2
Notes: The Spartans snapped an eight-game losing skid on Saturday night with an 83-68 win over a Pepperdine team that came into the Event Center on a four-game winning streak. SJSU is 3-1 this season when scoring 80-or-more points. Senior Brae Ivey led the Spartans with a career-high 23 points, fueled by a career-high five three-pointers. Sophomore Seneca Knight also had a career night. The guard posted his first collegiate double-double with 12 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. Knight added a career-high six assists as well.
NEW MEXICO LOBOS (13-2, 2-0 MW)
PPG: 80.2 | FG%: 49.6 | 3FG%: 32.8 | FT%: 72.6
Series: SJSU trails New Mexico, 2-12 (1-4 at home)
Last: SJSU won, 89-82, on 2/26/19 at the Event Center...Zach Chappell had 17 points and nine assists in the upset.
Notes: New Mexico opened Mountain West play with wins over Boise State (80-78) and Wyoming (79-65). The Lobos bring an eight-game winning streak into the Event Center after topping UC Davis on Sunday. New Mexico is 10-0 at home this year and 3-2 away from The Pit. Carlton Bragg had 17 points and 16 rebounds against the Spartans at the Event Center last year whle Keith McGee added 25 points on 10-of-19 shooting off the bench.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
TV - None
Stream - Free at sjsuspartans.com/watch
Radio - Justin Allegri on the call through TuneIn.com and the TuneIn app. Search TuneIn for "San Jose St. Basketball".
SAN JOSE STATE POUNDS PEPPERDINE
- The Spartans snapped an eight-game losing streak with an 83-68 win over Pepperdine on Dec. 28.
- San José State improved to 3-1 when scoring 80+ points this season.
- The Spartans turned the ball over a season-low seven times in the victory.
- Senior guard Brae Ivey tallied a career-high 23 points and hit a career-best five three-pointers.
- Sophomore guard Seneca Knight posted his first collegiate double-double with 12 points and a career-high 10 rebounds.
SPARTANS COME UP JUST SHORT AT SANTA CLARA
- Down by as much as 17 points in the second half, the Spartans rallied back but the comeback fell short in an 89-85 loss at Santa Clara on Dec. 18.
- San José State scored 58 points in the second half after scoring just 26 in the first half.
- The Spartans had five players score in double figures for the first time since a win over Life Pacific on Nov. 7, 2018.
- Guard Zach Chappell tallied a career-high 20 points off the bench and dished out a team-high six assists.
- In his first career start, forward Ralph Agee posted 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
- SJSU outrebounded Santa Clara, 36-25.
HEARTBREAK AT SAN DIEGO STATE
- The Spartans suffered a heartbreaking loss at San Diego State on Dec. 8. Up by a point with five seconds remaining, the Spartans saw SDSU point guard Malachi Flynn hit a deep three-pointer at the buzzer for the win.
- Forward Ralph Agee posted his first double-double for the Spartans with 12 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.
- The Spartans held SDSU to just 31.7 percent shooting.
- SJSU matched a season-low with 11 turnovers.
SPARTANS STYMIE GRAMBLING STATE
- Grambling State entered the game on Nov. 20 with the nation's No. 1 scoring offense, averaging 114 points over its first three games.
- The Spartans held the Tigers 38 points under their average in an 83-76 win at the Provident Credit Union Event Center.
- Grambling State was 1-of-10 shooting on three-pointers.
BALANCED EFFORT IN WIN VS. SIMPSON
- The Spartans had 13 different players score in an 85-60 win over Simpson on Nov. 17.
- Guard Zach Chappell came off the bench to score a season-high 14 points, including a pair of three-pointers.
- Guard Seneca Knight was 6-of-8 shooting for 15 points.
- Forward Ralph Agee posted 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting.
- Freshman walk-on Harminder Dhaliwal made his collegiate debut and had two points and two rebounds in six minutes.
SPARTANS STUN HOFSTRA IN SEASON-OPENER
- San José State opened the 2019-20 season with a bang, defeating Hofstra on the road, 79-71, on Nov. 6.
- Hofstra won 27 games last year, SJSU lost 27 games.
- In his Spartan debut, JC transfer and former Wake Forest guard, Richard Washington, posted a team-high 23 points off the bench on 8-of-13 shooting. He scored 12 of his 23 points in the final four minutes, including a stretch of three straight three-pointers to put the game away.
- It was SJSU's first win in a road opener since 2010-11 when the Spartans topped Eastern Washington, 67-60.
- The Spartans snapped a 21-game road losing streak dating back to the 2017-18 campaign.
- SJSU won on the East Coast for the first time since 2001-02, when the Spartans defeated Fairleigh Dickinson at the BCA Tournament hosted by NC State in Raleigh, N.C.
NCAA'S TALLEST TEAMS
San José State is the 10th tallest team in the NCAA this season, based on average height in inches. The Spartans have clashed with Utah State, the tallest in the nation, and Oregon State already this season.
LOTS OF STARTING EXPERIENCE BACK
- The Spartans return seven players who started at least one game a season ago.
- Guard Seneca Knight is the most experienced, as the sophomore started 17 games, including the final 12, of his rookie season.
- Point guard Brae Ivey was just behind Knight, as the former junior college transfer started 16 games last season.
- Guard Zach Chappell started 15 games last year.
- Forward Christian Anigwe, guard Isaiah Nichols and walk-on guard Trey Smith each started one game.
SIX NEW FACES FOR 2019-20
San José State head coach Jean Prioleau will have the help of six newcomers on the roster in 2019-20.
- The Spartans have three new junior college transfers in Richard Washington (Tallahassee CC), Eduardo Lane (Marshalltown CC) and Ralph Agee (East LA College). Washington started his collegiate career at Wake Forest, where he played eight games as a freshman before an injury caused him to miss the entire 2017-18 season.
- Another Wake Forest transfer will join the Spartans on the floor this season, as center Samuel Japhet-Mathias will be eligible after a redshirt season last year. The former four-star recruit appeared in 17 games off the bench at Wake Forest as a freshman in 2016-17. He posted six points and four rebounds at No. 17 Xavier.
- Prioleau added two freshmen this season in guard Omari Moore and walk-on center Harminder Dhaliwal.
SAN JOSE STATE TV SCHEDULE
- San José State will play 10 games on TV this season, including three at home.
- SJSU hosts an ESPN networks game this year for the first time since 2010-11, when either ESPN2 or ESPNU will carry the SJSU tip against Utah State on Dec. 4. SJSU will also be on ESPN2 or ESPNU when visiting Utah State on Feb. 26.
- San José State will have four non-conference games on TV, all against Pac-12 competition. The Spartans will be on CBS Sports Network when hosting Stanford at the Provident Credit Union Event Center on Dec. 14. SJSU will battle both UCLA and Arizona on Pac-12 Networks and meet Oregon State on FS1 for a neutral site matchup in Las Vegas.
- The Spartans will also have four Mountain West contests on AT&T SportsNet this season - Jan. 15 at UNLV, Jan. 21 at New Mexico, Feb. 8 at Nevada and Feb. 29 vs. UNLV.
