| San José State (16-10, 7-6 MW) vs. New Mexico (19-7, 6-7 MW) | |
| When | Friday, February 17 | 7:30 p.m. PT |
| Location | Provident Credit Union Event Center | San Jose, Calif. |
| Broadcast & Statistics | CBS Sports Network DirecTV 221, CBSSports.com, Hulu, Fubo, and YouTube TV KTRB 860 AM Live Stats |
| Game Notes | San José State | New Mexico |
| Rosters | San José State | New Mexico |
We hear from @CoachMiles as the Spartans prepare to play New Mexico Friday night under the lights. #AllSpartans | #RunToTheFight pic.twitter.com/hEhz5xor6i
— San Jose State Men's Basketball (@SanJoseStateMBB) February 16, 2023
San José State returns home this Friday night to host New Mexico in a rare home Friday night Mountain West game for the Spartans. New Mexico enters the game with a 19-7 overall record and 6-7 MW mark and are currently sixth in the conference standings after falling to Wyoming, 70-56, Tuesday night.
San José State enters the game with a 16-10 overall record and 7-6 MW mark after winning at UNLV, 75-66, on Valentine's Day. SJSU is alone in fifth-place in the MW standings, one game ahead of the Lobos. The Spartans have a two-game winning streak and a 10-2 record at home.
FIGHT FOR LITERACY GAME: Friday night's game also is the Fight 4 Literacy game as the Spartan coaching staff is wearing green bracelets and pins representing their commitment to defeating illiteracy.
ABOUT NEW MEXICO: The Lobos enter Friday night's game with a 19-7 overall record and 6-7 MW mark and are currently sixth in the standings. The team has a four-game losing streak, the last loss on Tuesday to Wyoming, 70-56, inside The Pit. Head coach Richard Pitino is in his second season at the helm of the program. Jamal Mashburn, Jr., ranks 26th nationally in scoring at 19.8 points per game.
Series Record - 5-19. The two teams first met on December 21, 1961, in Albuquerque as the Lobos won 63-51. The teams played again in 1967 but did not play each other again until both were members of the WAC in 1997.
Last SJSU Win in Series - 71-55, February 20, 2022, San Jose
Omari Moore recorded the third triple-double in school history with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the Spartans in the win. SJSU shot 74.1 percent from the field in the second half (20-27) including 6-for-10 from three-point range. Three other Spartans scored in double figures - Ibrahima Diallo with 14, Trey Anderson with 13 and Alvaro Cardenas with 10.
Earlier Meeting - New Mexico wins 77-57, Jan. 17, 2023
Omari Moore led the Spartans with 24 points as he became the 16th player in school history to score 1,000 points.
Last 11 Series Meetings
2/3/2018 L 71-68 San Jose
2/13/2019 L 90-62 Albuquerque
2/26/2019 W 89-82 San Jose
1/1/2020 W 88-85 San Jose
1/21/2020 L 86-59 Albuquerque
3/4/2020 L 79-66 Las Vegas
1/21/2021 L 67-51 St. George, Utah
1/23/2021 W 83-71 St. George, Utah
1/28/2022 L 86-70 Albuquerque
2/20/2022 W 71-55 San Jose
1/17/2023 L 77-57 Albuquerque
NET RANKINGS (as of 2/16): The Spartans are currently ranked 100 in the NET Rankings after games played on February 15. After the win at Santa Clara, the Spartans jumped up from 191 to 132, with the win over the Broncos. SJSU has Quadrant 2 wins over Santa Clara, Colorado State, Utah State and UNLV, Quadrant 3 wins over Ball State, UNLV, Air Force, and Northern California and seven Quadrant 4 wins.
ANDERSON PACES SPARTANS TO WIN AT UNLV: Trey Anderson matched his season high with 19 points in a 75-66 win at UNLV on Valentine's Day. Anderson was 6-for-9 from the field including 5-for-7 from three-point range. He also had five rebounds, a block and an assist as the Spartans won the season series from UNLV for only the third time in school history.
The Spartans led at halftime, 40-36, despite leading scorer Omari Moore being held scoreless after gong 0-for-8 from the field. The rest of the team shot 17-for-25 for the first half (.680) as Anderson scored 14 points. Moore rebounded in the second half to score all 14 of his points.
16-WIN PLATEAU REACHES NEW LEVEL: The Spartans won their 16th game of the season in the 75-66 win at UNLV on Valentine's Day to become just the sixth team since 1980-81 to record 16 or more wins in a season. The most recent team to reach this milestone was the 2010-11 team that finished 17-16.
Seasons With 16+ Wins Since 1980-81
1980-81 22-9
1984-85 16-13
1985-86 16-12
1986-87 16-14
2010-11 17-16
2022-23 16-10
CONFERENCE WINS HITTING NEW HIGHS: With seven Mountain West wins, the Spartans have matched the 2016-17 team for the most MW wins in a season since joining the conference in 2013-14. SJSU has not won more than seven conference games since 1995-96 when the team went 9-9 in the Big West, won the Big West Tournament and played No. 1 Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament.
ALL THE COMFORTS OF HOME - GUARANTEED WINNING HOME RECORD: For the first time since the 2016-17 season, the Spartans are guaranteed a winning home record as the team enters Friday night's game with a 10-2 mark inside the Provident Credit Union Event Center. The 82-52 win over Air Force gave SJSU eight home wins to guarantee a winning record. The 2016-17 Spartan team finished 9-7 at The Event Center and 14-16 overall.
"17" AN INTERESTING NUMBER FOR THE SPARTANS: The number "17" has many meanings for the Spartans so far this season. The team is 0-3 when playing on the 17th of the month with losses to Hofstra, 85-76, Pacific, 59-58, and New Mexico, 77-57, on those days. SJSU had a 17-point lead against Pacific in the loss.
However, Alvaro Cardenas may look at 17 as a lucky number for him. Four times this season, he has scored 17 points for the Spartans - versus Alabama State and Hofstra at home and at Pacific and at Utah State. In those four games, he shot 48 percent from the field (24-50) and 55.5 percent from three-point land (15-27) and dished out 17 assists.
SPARTAN REBOUNDING EFFORTS AMONG THE BEST IN THE NATION: SJSU has been out-rebounding their opponents by an average of 8.1 rebounds per game, ranking them seventh out of 352 teams ranked nationally. Purdue is the national leader at +11.7 rebounds. The Spartans average 37.35 rebounds per game, ranking 58th in the nation.
REBOUNDING A PLUS FOR THE SPARTANS: After being out-rebounded by opponents the past four seasons, the Spartans have turned the tables and now out-rebound opponents by 8.1 rebounds per game. Part of that success is a Spartan trio that has made a difference this season on the boards. Sage Tolbert III leads the team in rebounding at 7.3 pg, followed by Robert Vaihola at 6.1 pg and Ibrahima Diallo at 5.6 pg.
40+ POINT HALVES: The Spartans have scored 40 or more points in 11 halves this season, the latest coming at UNLV on Valentine's Day when SJSU scored 40 points in the first half, taking a 40-36 lead into the locker room. The Spartans are 9-1 in those games (scored 40+ in both halves against Bethesda).
47 - 1st half vs. Oakland, 11/26 (W)
46 - 2nd half at Santa Clara, 12/10 (W)
46 - 1st half vs. Air Force, 1/24 (W)
45 - Both halves vs. Bethesda, 11/12 (W)
45 - 2nd half at Colorado State, 12/31 (W)
45 - 2nd half vs. Wyoming, 2/4 (W)
41 - 1st half vs. Hofstra, 11/17 (L)
41 - 1st half at Northern Colorado, 11/19 (W)
41 - 1st half vs. UNLV, 12/28 (W)
40 - 1st half vs. UNLV, 2/14 (W)
GET THAT OUT OF MY HOUSE: In 26 games this season, Ibrahima Diallo has blocked 47 shots and has the fifth-highest season total in school history. Current Memphis Grizzlies player Brandon Clarke set the school record with 77 blocks in the 2016-17 season.
BLOCKED SHOTS (Since 1979)
Name Season Games Blocked Shots
1. Brandon Clarke 2017 30 77
2. Gerald Thomas 1988 29 62
3. Menelik Barbary 2007 30 49
4. Alex Brown 2013 26 49
5. Ibrahima Diallo 2023 24 47
6. Chris Oakes 2010 31 44
7. Darnell Williams 2000 30 43
8. Chris Oakes 2009 30 40
9. Brandon Clarke 2016 31 39
10. Menelik Barbary 2006 31 38
UP NEXT: The Spartans head northeast for another Tuesday night game in the State of Nevada, this time in Reno. SJSU faces off against Nevada, the second-place team in the MW, on Tuesday the 21st beginning at 7 p.m.