Sept. 21, 2009

SAN DIEGO -

2009-10 San Diego State Men's Basketball Schedule in PDF Format

San Diego State released the non-conference portion of its 2009-10 men's basketball schedule on Monday. The slate features two exhibition contests, seven regular season home games, including one against traditional power Arizona, and participation in the inaugural West Coast Classic and Mountain West-Missouri Valley Challenge.

Overall, SDSU will play 14 non-conference games and the combined winning percentage of its Division I opponents from a year ago is .545.

Fans can get their first look at the Aztecs on Nov. 3 when they play host to Cal Baptist in an exhibition contest at Viejas Arena, formerly Cox Arena. A second exhibition is also set for Nov. 10 at Viejas Arena against Point Loma Nazarene. Both games are slated for 7 p.m. PT.

After its two-game tune-up, SDSU will open the campaign at home on Nov. 14 as UC San Diego heads south for a 1 p.m. contest.

The first road trip of the season takes the Scarlet and Black to Northern California and Moraga, Calif., for a rematch of last year's NIT quarterfinal game against Saint Mary's. A year ago, the Aztecs split two games with the Gaels, but came away with the decision in the postseason to earn a trip to Madison Square Garden. This year's matchup is slated for Nov. 16 at 11 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN and ESPN360.com.

On Nov. 19, Santa Clara will make its way to Montezuma Mesa for the opening game of the West Coast Classic. Tip-off for the first-ever meeting is set for 7 p.m. The tournament, which is hosted by Santa Clara, will feature four games and be played at campus sites. As part of the tourney, the Aztecs will play at Fresno State on Nov. 23 at 7 p.m., and then travel to Pacific for another 7 p.m. contest on Nov. 25. San Diego State will conclude West Coast Classic action with a home date against Northern Arizona on Nov. 28 at 7 p.m.

Following its game with NAU, SDSU will head across town to face San Diego at Jenny Craig Pavilion on Dec. 2. That game time has yet to be determined.

A pair of Big West Conference schools follows USD on the schedule in UC Santa Barbara and Cal State Fullerton. The Aztecs are set to travel to UCSB for a 7 p.m. game on Dec. 5, before returning to Viejas Arena to take on the Titans on Dec. 9 at 7 p.m.

The Pac-10 Conference is next up for San Diego State with highly anticipated games against 2009 NCAA Tournament teams Arizona and Arizona State. The Aztecs get the Wildcats at home on Dec. 12 at 7 p.m. in a game televised by The Mtn. A week later, on Dec. 19, SDSU makes the short trip to Tempe, Ariz., to face the Sun Devils at a time to be determined.

The schedule does not get any easier for the Aztecs with a trip to Des Moines, Iowa, on the horizon. As part of the first annual Mountain West-Missouri Valley Challenge, San Diego State will play Drake on Dec. 22, before coming home to play UC Riverside at 7 p.m. on Dec. 29 and Pomona-Pitzer on Dec. 31 at 1 p.m. The game against the Sagehens will wrap up the Aztecs' non-conference schedule.

SDSU opens Mountain West Conference play on Jan. 5 against New Mexico at home. The MWC schedule was released in August.

The Aztecs are coming off a 2008-09 season in which they won a school-record 26 games and advanced to the postseason NIT semifinals at Madison Square Garden in New York City. SDSU has won 20 or more games and advanced to the postseason four straight seasons and returns two-time all-conference performer Billy White, two-year starter D.J. Gay, sophomore Tim Shelton and a top-15 recruiting class.

San Diego State 2009-10 season tickets start at $99 for reserved chair-back seats and are available now. Season tickets can be purchased online at GoAztecs.com or by calling the Aztec Ticket Office at (619) 283-7378.