Michigan
San Diego State
Michigan to Host San Diego State in Saturday Matinee at Crisler Center
12/2/2021 5:41:00 PM | Men's Basketball
» Michigan returns to Crisler Center for a Saturday matinee with San Diego State at 1 p.m. on CBS.
» Saturday's game marks the return of former assistant coach Brian Dutcher, who served under Steve Fisher (1989-98).
» Moussa Diabate (8.4 ppg) has posted all three of his double-figure games over his last four games.
» Caleb Houstan (4.6 rpg) has 17 of his 32 rebounds over his last two games.
NEXT GAME
Saturday, Dec. 4 -- vs. San Diego State (Crisler Center), 1:02 p.m.
• TV: CBS | Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video
• Satellite Radio: Sirius: 134 | XM: 195 | SXM App: 957
• Yearbook | Game Card
• Complete Game Notes (PDF)
PROMOTIONS
• Dec. 4: Postgame Kid's Club Free Throws (first 100 members to check in), "For Competitors Only" Poster Giveaway (first 5,000 fans)
• Full Promotions Schedule
• Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
The 24th-ranked University of Michigan men's basketball team returns to Ann Arbor on Saturday (Dec. 4), for a matinee against San Diego State at Crisler Center. The game marks the return on SDSU head coach Brian Dutcher to Ann Arbor after a decade with the Wolverines as an assistant coach (1989-98). Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. on CBS with Tom McCarthy (play-by-play) and Bill Raftery (analyst) on the call.
The San Diego State Aztecs
• Saturday afternoon's game marks the first-ever meeting between SDSU and Michigan.
• Saturday's game originally was set to be against Kentucky, but due to uncertainties with scheduling, the Wildcats elected to not play this season. U-M and Kentucky are still scheduled to play at London's O2 Arena in December 2022, and continued discussions are being made to reschedule the campus series.
• San Diego State comes to Ann Arbor with a 5-2 overall record. The Aztecs, who have eight seniors on their roster and 10 upperclassmen, are posting 63.9 points per game, while allowing 57.9 points per game. SDSU averages 36.1 rebounds and dishes out 10.9 assists per game.
• The Aztecs are led by senior transfer Matt Bradley (Cal), who averages 13 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per contest. He leads the team with 36 triples (5.1 per game) to the free-throw line. Fellow senior transfer Trey Pulliam (Navarro College) is posting 10.9 points, 2.7 rebounds, and a team-best 3.6 assists a game.
• Six-foot-10 senior forward Nathan Mensah has 8.1 points, a team-best 7.9 rebounds, and 16 blocks so far. He is shooting 55.3 percent (21-for-38) from the field.
• Since joining the Mountain West in 1999, San Diego State has won eight regular-season titles and six conference tournaments. The Aztecs have made eight trips to the NCAA Tournament over the last 11 seasons and have advanced to the Sweet 16, twice (2011, '14) -- the best in program history.
• Brian Dutcher has been a mainstay with San Diego State since 1999. In 2017, he was named head coach following Steve Fisher's retirement. During the 2019-20 season, Dutcher led the Aztecs to a 26-0 start, eventually finishing 30-2, capturing the league title (17-1) and being named Mountain West Coach of the Year before the postseason was canceled due to COVID-19.
Welcome Home!
• Saturday's game marks the return of former U-M assistant/associate head coach Brian Dutcher.
• After joining the Michigan staff in 1989, Dutcher helped the Wolverines and head coach Steve Fisher "Shock the World," winning the national championship following an 80-79 overtime thriller against Seton Hall.
• Over the next nine seasons, Dutcher helped Michigan to seven 20-plus win seasons (258 wins), seven trips to the NCAA Tournament, two national runner-ups (1992 and 1993) as well as winning the 1997 NIT title and the inaugural 1998 Big Ten Tournament. Due to NCAA sanctions, those titles were vacated.
• Following Fisher to SDSU in 1999, Dutcher was named associate head coach. Over the course of his 21 years, Dutcher has helped the Aztecs reach the postseason 14 times, including nine trips to the NCAA Tournament, win a conference-best 12 Mountain West titles and record 15 seasons of at least 20 victories.
• Since 2008-09, Dutcher and SDSU twice advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 (2011, '14) and NIT semifinal (2009, '16), won at least 25 games eight times, and captured nine Mountain West championships (six regular-season, three tournament).
• Following Fisher's retirement in 2017, Dutcher was named head coach. Since taking over, he has collected 100 wins (100-33), including two Mountain West regular-season titles (2020, '21), two Mountain West Tournament titles (2018, '21), and a runner-up (2019). The Aztecs have made two trips to the NCAA Tournament (2018, '21).
• While with Michigan, Dutcher played an enormous role in bringing in the famed "Fab Five" recruiting class to U-M in 1991, the "Next Five" in 1994 as well as being heavily credited for the role he played in bringing Kawhi Leonard to SDSU in 2008.
What Else You Need to Know
• Hunter Dickinson has played in 35 career games, starting 30 of them.
• DeVante' Jones has started 64 straight games, while Brandon Johns Jr. has played in 56 consecutive games.
• Scoring in double figures in all seven games, Eli Brooks leads U-M with 15 points per game. He is shooting 49.3 percent from the field (36-for-73) and 41.9 percent from long range (13-for-31).
• Brooks has gone 20-for-22 (.909) from the free-throw line, and is 60-for-66 over (.909) over the last two seasons. For his career, Brooks is an 80 percent free-throw shooter (.809; 106-for-131).
• Hunter Dickinson leads the Wolverines with 7.7 rebounds per game. DeVante' Jones, who grabbed his 500th board at North Carolina, is second with 5.7 per game. Moussa Diabate is third at 5.3 per game.
• Diabate (17), Dickinson (15) and Jones (10) combine for 42 of Michigan's 72 offensive rebounds -- 58.3 percent.
• Diabate has nearly evenly split his rebounding (17 offensive, 20 defensive). He also has posted all three of his double-figure games over his last four games.
• Caleb Houstan (4.6 rpg) has 17 of his 32 rebounds over his last two games.
• Eli Brooks (13) and Houstan (10) lead U-M with 23 of U-M's 37 three-pointers -- 62.2 percent.
• DeVante' Jones leads the Wolverines with 28 assists (4.0 apg), while Eli Brooks is second with 18 (2.6 apg).
• Hunter Dickinson (eight) and Moussa Diabate (seven) account for 15 of the Wolberines' 23 blocks -- 65.2 percent.
Up Next
Tuesday, Dec. 7 -- at Nebraska (Lincoln, Neb.), 6 p.m. CST
