They have been the best in the Mountain West all season, and on Tuesday they got more hardware to prove it.
The conference's coaches named Malachi Flynn Player of the Year, and Brian Dutcher the league's Coach of the Year.
Flynn also landed Defensive Player of the Year, making him just the second player ever to log both awards in the same season. Although, the Washington State transfer said on Twitter that his backcourt mate KJ Feagin deserved the nod on defense. Feagin did make the All-Defensive team, along with Flynn.
The junior guard is the first Aztec to be named Player of the Year since Xavier Thames in 2014. He put up 18.9 points per game in conference play, while averaging 4.7 assists with a league-best 2.6 assist-to-turnover ratio. Defensively his 1.6 steals per game ranked third in the Mountain West, for an SDSU defense that was tops in the league and among the stingiest in the nation.
Meanwhile, Dutcher earns the award named after his predecessor and long time mentor Steve Fisher. After going 21-13, missing out on the NCAA Tournament, and losing three of their top-four scorers, Dutcher put together a squad that finishes the regular season ranked fifth in the nation. Along with Flynn - who sat out last year due to NCAA transfer rules - he added graduate transfers KJ Feagin (Santa Clara) and Yanni Wetzell (Vanderbilt).
The team immediately clicked, winning its first 26 games for the best start in program history. They finished the regular season with San Diego State's best record ever, 28-1. Dutcher's squad is one of four that ranks Top-15 in both offensive and defensive efficiency according to Ken Pomeroy. They are in position to earn the program's first No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Along with Flynn, Matt Mitchell was a First Team All-Mountain West pick after averaging 13.8 points and 5.6 rebounds in conference games. Yanni Wetzell was a Second Team selection on the strength of 11.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.
The Aztecs enter the postseason Thursday when they face the winner between Fresno State and Air Force in the Mountain West Tournament quarterfinals, beginning at 11:30 a.m.
