# 2017–18 San Diego State Aztecs men's basketball team

The 2017–18 San Diego State men's basketball team represented San Diego State University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Aztecs, led by first-year head coach Brian Dutcher, played their home games at Viejas Arena as members in the Mountain West Conference. They finished the season 22–11, 11–7 in Mountain West play to finish in a tie for fourth place. They defeated Fresno State, Nevada, and New Mexico to become champions of the Mountain West tournament. As a result, they received the Mountain West's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As the No. 11 seed in the West region, they lost to Houston in the first round.

## Previous season

The Aztecs finished the season 19–14, 9–9 in Mountain West play to finish in a tie for fifth place. They defeated UNLV and Boise State to advance to the semifinals of the Mountain West tournament where they lost to Colorado State. They Aztecs did not participate in a postseason tournament for the first time since the 2004–05 season.
On April 11, 2017, head coach Steve Fisher announced his retirement after 18 seasons at San Diego State and 27 seasons overall as NCAA head coach, handing over the head coaching job to his longtime assistant Brian Dutcher.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Ben Perez | 2 | G | 6'3" | 175 | Sophomore | San Marcos, CA | Walk-on; transferred to South Plains College |
| Dakarai Allen | 4 | G | 6'5" | 200 | Senior | Sacramento, CA | Graduated, now plays in NBA G League |
| D'Erryl Williams | 11 | G | 6'3" | 205 | Senior | Sacramento, CA | Graduated |
| Emmanuel Wilson | 12 | G | 6'2" | 185 | RS Freshman | Dallas, TX | Walk-on; didn't return |
| Zylan Cheatham | 14 | F | 6'9" | 220 | RS Sophomore | Phoenix, AZ | Transferred to Arizona State |
| Matt Shrigley | 20 | F | 6'6" | 190 | RS Senior | Encinitas, CA | Graduated |
| Niksha Federico | 33 | F | 6'7" | 200 | Senior | San Diego, CA | Walk-on; graduated |
| Valentine Izundu | 45 | C | 6'10" | 240 | RS Senior | Houston, TX | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Patrick Fisher | 13 | G | 6'4" | 200 | Sophomore | Carlsbad, CA | Transferred from Winthrop. Under NCAA transfer rules, Fisher will have to sit out for the 2017–18 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility. Will join the team as a preferred walk-on. |
| Kameron Rooks | 45 | C | 7'1" | 265 | RS Senior | San Marcos, CA | Transferred from California. Will be eligible to play immediately since Rooks graduated from California. |

### 2017 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Jordan Schakel #31 SF | Torrance, CA | Bishop Montgomery High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Jul 21, 2016 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Adam Seiko #76 PG | Chatsworth, CA | Sierra Canyon High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Jun 16, 2016 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Matt Mitchell #81 SF | Corona, CA | Eleanor Roosevelt High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Aug 14, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2017 San Diego St. Basketball Commitment List". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 11, 2017. "2017 San Diego St. Player Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 11, 2017. "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 11, 2017. ||||||

### 2018 Recruiting class

College recruiting information (2018) :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Jordan Campbell #73 SG | Victorville, CA | Scale Prep | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) | Aug 14, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Nathan Mensah PF | Accra, Ghana | Findlay Prep | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Oct 4, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Joel Mensah PF | Accra, Ghana | Junípero Serra High School | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Aug 12, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2018 San Diego St. Basketball Commitment List". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 11, 2017. "2018 San Diego St. Player Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 11, 2017. "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 11, 2017. |||||||

## Preseason

In a vote by conference media at the Mountain West media day, the Aztecs were picked to finish in second place in the Mountain West. Senior guard Trey Kell was named to the preseason All-Mountain West team.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| Nov 02, 2017* 7:00 pm | | UC San Diego | W 98–79 | – | Viejas Arena (10,581) San Diego, CA |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 10, 2017* 7:00 pm | | San Diego Christian | W 91–52 | 1–0 | Viejas Arena (11,285) San Diego, CA |
| Nov 14, 2017* 6:00 pm, P12N | | at Arizona State | L 68–90 | 1–1 | Wells Fargo Arena (6,640) Tempe, AZ |
| Nov 17, 2017* 7:30 pm, FSSD | | McNeese State | W 83–52 | 2–1 | Viejas Arena (10,702) San Diego, CA |
| Nov 20, 2017* 7:30 pm, FSSD | | Eastern Illinois | W 94–63 | 3–1 | Viejas Arena (9,821) San Diego, CA |
| Nov 23, 2017* 10:00 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Sacramento State Wooden Legacy quarterfinals | W 89–52 | 4–1 | Titan Gym (2,131) Fullerton, CA |
| Nov 24, 2017* 4:00 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. Georgia Wooden Legacy semifinals | W 75–68 | 5–1 | Titan Gym (2,513) Fullerton, CA |
| Nov 26, 2017* 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. Washington State Wooden Legacy championship | L 86–93 | 5–2 | Titan Gym (1,733) Fullerton, CA |
| Nov 30, 2017* 7:00 pm, FSW | | at San Diego City Championship | W 66–57 | 6–2 | Jenny Craig Pavilion (4,536) San Diego, CA |
| Dec 3, 2017* 3:00 pm, Stadium | | Bradley MW–MVC Challenge | W 75–52 | 7–2 | Viejas Arena (11,102) San Diego, CA |
| Dec 9, 2017* 2:00 pm, CBSSN | | California | L 62–63 | 7–3 | Viejas Arena (11,381) San Diego, CA |
| Dec 21, 2017* 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | No. 12 Gonzaga | W 72–70 | 8–3 | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| Mountain West regular season ||||||
| Dec 27, 2017 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Wyoming | L 69–82 | 8–4 (0–1) | Arena-Auditorium (4,823) Laramie, WY |
| Dec 30, 2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Utah State | W 79–59 | 9–4 (1–1) | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| Jan 2, 2018 6:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Colorado State | W 77–68 | 10–4 (2–1) | Moby Arena (3,020) Fort Collins, CO |
| Jan 9, 2018 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | San Jose State | W 85–49 | 11–4 (3–1) | Viejas Arena (11,761) San Diego, CA |
| Jan 13, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Boise State | L 80–83 | 11–5 (3–2) | Taco Bell Arena (10,874) Boise, ID |
| Jan 17, 2018 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | Fresno State | L 73–77 | 11–6 (3–3) | Viejas Arena (11,358) San Diego, CA |
| Jan 20, 2018 4:00 pm, CBSSN | | at New Mexico | L 75–79 | 11–7 (3–4) | The Pit (11,418) Albuquerque, NM |
| Jan 24, 2018 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | Colorado State | W 97–78 | 12–7 (4–4) | Viejas Arena (11,144) San Diego, CA |
| Jan 27, 2018 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | at UNLV | L 78–88 | 12–8 (4–5) | Thomas & Mack Center (11,137) Paradise, NV |
| Feb 3, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Air Force | W 81–50 | 13–8 (5–5) | Viejas Arena (11,482) San Diego, CA |
| Feb 6, 2018 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Fresno State | L 61–79 | 13–9 (5–6) | Save Mart Center (6,128) Fresno, CA |
| Feb 10, 2018 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at No. 23 Nevada | L 58–83 | 13–10 (5–7) | Lawlor Events Center (10,134) Reno, NV |
| Feb 14, 2018 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | Wyoming | W 87–77 | 14–10 (6–7) | Viejas Arena (10,494) San Diego, CA |
| Feb 17, 2018 1:00 pm, CBSSN | | UNLV | W 94–56 | 15–10 (7–7) | Viejas Arena (11,180) San Diego, CA |
| Feb 21, 2018 6:30 pm, ESPN2 | | at Air Force | W 67–56 | 16–10 (8–7) | Clune Arena (1,868) Colorado Springs, CO |
| Feb 24, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at San Jose State | W 71–59 | 17–10 (9–7) | Event Center Arena (2,642) San Jose, CA |
| Feb 27, 2018 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | Boise State | W 72–64 | 18–10 (10–7) | Viejas Arena (11,211) San Diego, CA |
| Mar 3, 2018 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | No. 21 Nevada | W 79–74 | 19–10 (11–7) | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| Mountain West tournament ||||||
| Mar 8, 2018 2:30 pm, CBSSN | (5) | vs. (4) Fresno State Quarterfinals | W 64–52 | 20–10 | Thomas & Mack Center (6,753) Paradise, NV |
| Mar 9, 2018 6:00 pm, CBSSN | (5) | vs. (1) No. 22 Nevada Semifinals | W 90–73 | 21–10 | Thomas & Mack Center (8,456) Paradise, NV |
| Mar 10, 2018 3:00 pm, CBS | (5) | vs. (3) New Mexico Championship | W 82–75 | 22–10 | Thomas & Mack Center (8,456) Paradise, NV |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 15, 2018* 4:20 pm, TBS | (11 W) | vs. (6 W) No. 21 Houston First Round | L 65–67 | 22–11 | Intrust Bank Arena (14,019) Wichita, KS |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in Pacific Time. ||||||