Aztecs Finish Season No. 6; Dutcher a Coach of the Year Finalist

The San Diego State University men's basketball team finished the 2019-20 season ranked No. 6 in the nation in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll.

The ranking matches the best final ranking the Aztecs have had in the poll, tying the No. 6 ranking the 2010-11 team achieved. This marks the fourth time SDSU has finished the season with an AP ranking – the program also finished the 2011-12 and 2013-14 seasons ranked No. 22 and No. 13, respectively in the AP Poll.

SDSU finished the season inside the top 10 for 11 consecutive weeks, the second longest in program history, trailing a 13-week run from Dec. 10, 2010 through March 14, 2011.

SDSU finished the regular season as the only team in Division I with a single loss (28-1) and finished with an overall record of 30-2. After initially appearing in the No. 25 spot in the AP Poll on Dec. 9, the Aztecs climbed to No. 20, No. 15, No. 13, into the top-10 with back-to-back weekly rankings at No. 7, five straight weeks at No. 4, two at No. 5 and two weeks at No. 6.    

Overall, this marks the 81st week the program has been ranked in the AP Top 25 and all have come since the start of the 2010-11 season. Those 81 weeks are the 21st most for any school in the nation in that time frame.

Dutcher a Finalist for Coach of the Year

SDSU head men’s basketball coach Brian Dutcher is one of four Division I basketball coaches who has been named a finalist for the 2020 Werner Ladder Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year Award.

Dutcher is joined by Baylor's Scott Drew, Dayton's Anthony Grant and Florida State's Leonard Hamilton. 

Fans are able to vote by visiting naismithfanvote.com between March 20-April 1 to cast their ballot, and the fan vote will account for 5% of the overall vote. The award is scheduled to be announced April 3. The award ceremony will be held on a later date.

Dutcher has already been named the Mountain West Coach of the Year by the league's media members and its coaches, in separate votes. He was named the USA Today Sport's Coach of the Year and is the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) District IX Coach of the Year.

Dutcher also earned his first National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) District 17 Coach of the Year award and joins Steve Fisher, a three-time winner (2011, 2012 and 2014), as the only coaches in program history to have had the honor bestowed upon them. 

Flynn earns All-American Honors

Honors continue to roll in for SDSU guard Malachi Flynn, who was recognized as an NCAA Consensus All-American and Associated Press second team All-American honors. 

Flynn's All-American selection by the AP is his fifth second-team honor and he is quickly becoming one of the most decorated players, for a single-season, in Aztec basketball history. 

The Tacoma, Washington, native joins Michael Cage (1984) and Kawhi Leonard (2011) as the only SDSU men's basketball players to receive consensus All-America honors and second-team All-American distinction from the Associated Press.

In addition to the honor, Flynn earned first-team All-American honors from Sports Illustrated and STADIUM and second-team recognition from The Sporting News, CBS Sports, the NABC and NBC Sports. The Athletic has also designated Flynn as a second-team All-American. Flynn was also named a first team honoree by the NABC District 17.

Flynn finished the regular season averaging 17.6 points, 5.1 assists and 4.4 rebounds while shooting 44.7% from the floor, 37.2% from long range and 85.7% from the free throw line.  In league games, he was even more impressive. His scoring average went up to 18.9 points on 45.3% shooting including 34.7% from distance and 91.7% from the charity stripe. Earning starting assignments in all 32 games this season, the junior scored in double figures 31 times, led the team the team in scoring and assists 21 times.

In separate votes by the league's coaches and media members, Flynn was named the Mountain West Player of the Year.  He was also named the conference Defensive Player of the Year (coaches), its Newcomer of the Year (media) and a first-team All-Mountain West performer by both bodies.