What do you do when a 20-game winning streak goes out the window? Pick up the pieces and start a new one.
That's what San Diego State will try to do after the team suffered its first loss in three months -- a 68-62 defeat at the hands of Wyoming on Tuesday -- when the Aztecs host Air Force on Saturday.
"Well I was hoping this day wouldn't come, when our winning streak had to be reignited and restarted," head coach Steve Fisher said. "I'm disappointed that we didn't get our 21st-straight win, but excited about the opportunity to start another one-game winning streak (Saturday)."
The Aztecs (21-2, 10-1 in the Mountain West Confererence) trailed through most of the loss to the Cowboys, falling behind by as many as 16 points in the second half. Dwayne Polee led the team with 15 points while Xavier Thames added 13 on just 3-of-16 shooting.
"Not to dwell too much on the past, but at Wyoming, the better team won that day," Fisher said.
Thames got a big of good news on Thursday, as he was named to the Naismith Award mid-season list of the top 30 players in the country.
"You've just got to give all the glory to God and my teammates because without them, I wouldn't be on that list," Thames said. "I'm just thankful and blessed."
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The Aztecs tied a school record with the 20-game win streak. They also reached No. 5 in the national rankings, but will certainly drop after the loss.
"We just have to say, 'OK, let's start another long winning streak to see how far we can pop back up,'" Fisher said.
SDSU hosts an Air Force (10-13, 4-8) team that just snapped a six-game losing streak with a win over San Jose State on Wedneday. The Falcons are led by sophomore Tre' Coggins, who leads the team with 16.8 points per game.
"Coggins was sensational against us," Fisher said of the first time the teams met, a 79-72 win for the Aztecs on Jan. 12. "He's been pretty good against everybody, but he had 29 against us and was 11-of-18 from the field."
The Aztecs are home all week, hosting Utah State on Tuesday before heading to Albuquerque for a matchup against second-place New Mexico.
