# 2018–19 San Diego State Aztecs men's basketball team

The 2018–19 San Diego State men's basketball team represented San Diego State University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Aztecs, led by second-year head coach Brian Dutcher, played their home games at Viejas Arena as members in the Mountain West Conference. They finished the season 21–13, 11–7 in Mountain West play to finish in a tie for fourth place. They defeated UNLV and Nevada to advance to the championship game of the Mountain West tournament where they lost to Utah State.

## Previous season

The Aztecs 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.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Patrick Fisher | 13 | G | 6'4" | 200 | Sophomore | Dallas, TX | Walk-on; didn't return |
| Montaque Gill-Caesar | 31 | G | 6'6" | 216 | RS Junior | Vaughan, ON | Left the team for personal reasons |
| Trey Kell | 3 | G | 6'4" | 216 | Senior | San Diego, CA | Graduated |
| Max Montana | 10 | F | 6'9" | 210 | RS Junior | Calabasas, CA | Left the team to pursue professional opportunities |
| Malik Pope | 21 | F | 6'10" | 220 | Senior | Sacramento, CA | Graduated/Went undrafted in 2018 NBA draft |
| Kameron Rooks | 45 | C | 7'1" | 266 | RS Senior | San Marcos, CA | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Malachi Flynn | 22 | G | 6'1" | 170 | Junior | Tacoma, WA | Transferred from Washington State. Under NCAA transfer rules, Flynn will have to sit out for the 2018–19 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. |

### 2018 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Aguek Arop SG | Omaha, NE | The B.E.S.T. Academy | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | May 16, 2018 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: N/A ||||||
| Ed Chang #28 PF | Seattle, WA | Garfield High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Jun 18, 2018 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 81 ||||||
| Joel Mensah #26 C | 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: ESPN grade: 80 ||||||
| Nathan Mensah #34 C | Accra, Ghana | Findlay Prep | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Oct 4, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80 ||||||
| 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 July 31, 2017. "2018 San Diego St. Player Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 31, 2017. "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 31, 2017. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| Nov 1, 2018* 7:00 pm | | Chaminade | W 68–63 | – | 16 – Tied | 7 – Tied | 4 – Tied | Viejas Arena (10,675) San Diego, CA |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| Nov 6, 2018* 7:00 pm | | Arkansas–Pine Bluff | W 76–60 | 1–0 | 20 – Watson | 9 – McDaniels | 5 – McDaniels | Viejas Arena (11,077) San Diego, CA |
| Nov 14, 2018* 7:00 pm | | Texas Southern Maui Invitational campus game | W 103–64 | 2–0 | 21 – Mitchell | 9 – McDaniels | 8 – Watson | Viejas Arena (10,507) San Diego, CA |
| Nov 19, 2018* 2:00 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. No. 1 Duke Maui Invitational quarterfinals | L 64–90 | 2–1 | 15 – Watson | 5 – McDaniels | 3 – Tied | Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) Maui, HI |
| Nov 20, 2018* 11:30 am, ESPN2 | | vs. Xavier Maui Invitational consolation 2nd round | W 79–74 | 3–1 | 26 – McDaniels | 8 – McDaniels | 7 – Watson | Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) Maui, HI |
| Nov 21, 2018* 11:30 am, ESPN2 | | vs. Iowa State Maui Invitational 5th place game | L 57–87 | 3–2 | 14 – Mitchell | 7 – McDaniels | 2 – Tied | Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) Maui, HI |
| Nov 27, 2018* 7:30 pm, FSSD | | Jackson State | W 87–44 | 4–2 | 15 – Tied | 11 – Mensah | 4 – Tied | Viejas Arena (10,453) San Diego, CA |
| Dec 1, 2018* 12:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Illinois State MW–MVC Challenge | W 75–65 | 5–2 | 23 – Watson | 15 – McDaniels | 7 – Watson | Redbird Arena (6,245) Normal, IL |
| Dec 5, 2018* 7:00 pm, Stadium | | San Diego City Championship | L 61–73 | 5–3 | 22 – Watson | 8 – McDaniels | 3 – Tied | Viejas Arena (11,082) San Diego, CA |
| Dec 8, 2018* 7:30 pm, P12N | | at California | L 83–89 | 5–4 | 20 – McDaniels | 6 – Tied | 7 – Watson | Haas Pavilion (5,268) Berkeley, CA |
| Dec 12, 2018* 7:00 pm | | Cal State Dominguez Hills | W 99–46 | 6–4 | 20 – Mitchell | 7 – Tied | 8 – Watson | Viejas Arena (10,283) San Diego, CA |
| Dec 22, 2018* 4:00 pm, CBSSN | | BYU | W 90–81 | 7–4 | 23 – Watson | 8 – Schakel | 8 – Watson | Viejas Arena (11,321) San Diego, CA |
| Dec 29, 2018* 5:00 pm, FSSD | | Brown | L 61–82 | 7–5 | 19 – McDaniels | 7 – Mensah | 5 – Watson | Viejas Arena (10,821) San Diego, CA |
| Jan 1, 2019* 12:00 pm | | Cal State Northridge | W 65–60 | 8–5 | 20 – McDaniels | 13 – McDaniels | 6 – Watson | Viejas Arena (9,971) San Diego, CA |
| Mountain West regular season |||||||||
| Jan 5, 2019 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Boise State | L 64–88 | 8–6 (0–1) | 24 – Watson | 5 – McDaniels | 3 – Watson | Taco Bell Arena (5,425) Boise, ID |
| Jan 8, 2019 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | Wyoming | W 84–54 | 9–6 (1–1) | 22 – McDaniels | 12 – McDaniels | 8 – Watson | Viejas Arena (10,130) San Diego, CA |
| Jan 12, 2019 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Air Force | L 48–62 | 9–7 (1–2) | 18 – McDaniels | 11 – McDaniels | 4 – Watson | Clune Arena (2,346) Colorado Springs, CO |
| Jan 16, 2019 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | New Mexico | W 97–77 | 10–7 (2–2) | 24 – McDaniels | 11 – McDaniels | 9 – Mitchell | Viejas Arena (10,277) San Diego, CA |
| Jan 22, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Fresno State Rivalry | L 62–66 | 10–8 (2–3) | 19 – McDaniels | 10 – McDaniels | 3 – Watson | Save Mart Center (5,792) Fresno, CA |
| Jan 26, 2019 5:00 pm, CBSSN | | UNLV | W 94–77 | 11–8 (3–3) | 30 – McDaniels | 13 – McDaniels | 4 – McDaniels | Viejas Arena (11,254) San Diego, CA |
| Jan 30, 2019 7:00 pm, Stadium | | Air Force | W 66–51 | 12–8 (4–3) | 15 – Watson | 11 – McDaniels | 5 – Hemsley | Viejas Arena (10,107) San Diego, CA |
| Feb 2, 2019 6:00 pm | | at San Jose State | W 67–56 | 13–8 (5–3) | 27 – Watson | 9 – McDaniels | 6 – Watson | Event Center Arena (2,430) San Jose, CA |
| Feb 6, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at New Mexico | L 70–83 | 13–9 (5–4) | 25 – McDaniels | 9 – McDaniels | 3 – Watson | Dreamstyle Arena (10,279) Albuquerque, NM |
| Feb 9, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Utah State | W 68–63 | 14–9 (6–4) | 23 – Watson | 10 – Mensah | 3 – Watson | Viejas Arena (10,631) San Diego, CA |
| Feb 12, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Colorado State | W 71–60 | 15–9 (7–4) | 21 – Watson | 12 – McDaniels | 3 – Arop | Moby Arena (2,596) Fort Collins, CO |
| Feb 16, 2019 4:00 pm, CBSSN | | Boise State | W 71–65 | 16–9 (8–4) | 19 – Watson | 8 – Mensah | 6 – Hemsley | Viejas Arena (11,040) San Diego, CA |
| Feb 20, 2019 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | No. 6 Nevada | W 65–57 | 17–9 (9–4) | 15 – Tied | 9 – Mitchell | 8 – Watson | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| Feb 23, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | at UNLV | W 60–59 | 18–9 (10–4) | 16 – McDaniels | 6 – Schakel | 4 – Watson | Thomas & Mack Center (10,427) Paradise, NV |
| Feb 26, 2019 6:30 pm, CBSSN | | at Utah State | L 54–70 | 18–10 (10–5) | 15 – Schakel | 8 – Mensah | 3 – Arop | Smith Spectrum (8,160) Logan, UT |
| Mar 2, 2019 7:00 pm, FSSD | | San Jose State | W 84–56 | 19–10 (11–5) | 15 – Hemsley | 11 – Mensah | 6 – Hemsley | Viejas Arena (11,258) San Diego, CA |
| Mar 6, 2019 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | Fresno State Rivalry | L 74–76 | 19–11 (11–6) | 16 – McDaniels | 7 – McDaniels | 3 – Watson | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| Mar 9, 2019 7:30 pm, CBSSN | | at No. 17 Nevada | L 53–81 | 19–12 (11–7) | 16 – Hemsley | 9 – Mitchell | 3 – Hemsley | Lawlor Events Center (11,243) Reno, NV |
| Mountain West tournament |||||||||
| Mar 14, 2019 2:30 pm, CBSSN | (4) | at (5) UNLV Quarterfinals | W 63–55 | 20–12 | 25 – McDaniels | 14 – McDaniels | 4 – Watson | Thomas & Mack Center (7,309) Paradise, NV |
| Mar 14, 2019 6:00 pm, CBSSN | (4) | vs. (1) No. 14 Nevada Semifinals | W 65–56 | 21–12 | 20 – Watson | 10 – McDaniels | 5 – Watson | Thomas & Mack Center (8,764) Paradise, NV |
| Mar 15, 2019 3:00 pm, CBS | (4) | vs. (2) Utah State Championship | L 57–64 | 21–13 | 18 – Watson | 7 – Mensah | 3 – Watson | Thomas & Mack Center (8,969) Paradise, NV |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific Time. |||||||||