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Duke Basketball: San Diego State known for toughness and fight

By Kevin Connelly

WICHITA, KS - MARCH 15: Matt Mitchell #11 of the San Diego State Aztecs attempts a lay up against the Houston Cougars during the second half of the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at INTRUST Arena on March 15, 2018 in Wichita, Kansas. The Houston Cougars defeated the San Diego State Aztecs 67-65. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
WICHITA, KS - MARCH 15: Matt Mitchell #11 of the San Diego State Aztecs attempts a lay up against the Houston Cougars during the second half of the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at INTRUST Arena on March 15, 2018 in Wichita, Kansas. The Houston Cougars defeated the San Diego State Aztecs 67-65. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images) /
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The Duke Basketball team will be taking on the San Diego State Aztecs in the first round of the Maui Invitational on Monday evening and they will compete for the entirety of the game.

The San Diego State Aztec Basketball program is built on toughness, fight, and competition.

The program was built by the legendary Steve Fisher who put the Aztecs on the map by winning 386 games in San Diego since 1999.

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Fischer retired from coaching two years ago but his fingerprints are still on the his then assistant from 1999, Brian Dutcher, is the head coach of the program.

The Aztecs currently sit at 2-0 on the season with wins over Arkansas Pine-Bluff and Texas Southern.

Dutcher has five players who averages double figures on his team, led by senior Devin Watson who averages 17.0 points per game and sophomore Matt Mitchell who averages 15.5 points per game.

Watson also adds 5.5 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game whole Mitchell puts up 5.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.

Big man Jalen McDaniels adds 14.5 points per game to the San Diego State attack as well as 9.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and steals.

Jeremy Hemsely averages 12.0 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists, while Jordan Schakel averages 11.5 points per game along with 6.0 rebounds and 1.0 assist.

While San Diego State might not have the household names that Duke does and that they normally aren’t a program that comes to mind when you are thinking of the top teams in the country, they are always well coached and play their hearts out.

The Blue Devils will have their hands full with the San Diego State Aztecs on Monday late afternoon in the First Round of the Maui Invitational and Duke is going to have to bring their best effort if they want to continue their perfect record in the prestigious tournament.

Duke will take on San Diego State at approximately 5:00 pm ET on Monday and the game can be seen on ESPN2.

Stay tuned to Ball Durham at our Twitter, @Ball_Durham, and here at our website, balldurham.com, for complete coverage of the Duke Blue Devils vs. the San Diego State Aztecs. 

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