Volume 5, Issue 2 University of Houston
Cougars try to conquer Aztecs
Breaking News Staff
The 2002-03 season hasn't been kind to the men's basketball team, but it will look to reverse its fortunes when it hosts San Diego State at 1 p.m. Saturday at Hofheinz Pavilion. The 2-4 Cougars are coming off a 68-59 loss to Southwest Texas State on Dec. 9.
San Diego State (4-3) has won four of its last five games after starting the year 0-2. The Aztecs are the defending Mountain West Conference Tournament Champions and are coming off a 21-win season, including a trip the NCAA Tournament.
Head coach Ray McCallum was a member of San Diego State head coach Steve Fisher's coaching staff briefly in 1993 while Fisher was still at Michigan. McCallum was hired in 1993 but left before the start of the season to take the head coaching job at Ball State.
The Aztecs won the last meeting with the Cougars, 78-66, in San Diego on Jan. 29. During that contest, senior guard Tony Bland lit up the Cougars for 33 points on 12-of-19 shooting.
He is averaging 16.6 points per game this season. Senior center Mike Mackell leads the Aztecs with a 17.0 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.
Following this game, the Cougars will head out west to play the Washington Huskies at 9 p.m. Monday. They will be off until Jan. 1 when they travel to Lubbock to face Texas Tech. The Cougars return to Hofheinz for a Jan. 4 meeting with Louisiana-Lafayette.
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