Colorado State vs. San Diego State

Steve Fisher Court – Viejas Arena –  San Diego State University

Wednesday, January 28 – 7:30 PM

TV: FS1

The Aztecs aim to begin a new win streak as they host struggling Colorado State Rams at Viejas Arena

San Diego State and Colorado State will meet for the first time this season on Wednesday night. The Aztecs are coming off a huge win at UNLV in a bounce-back performance after the loss at Grand Canyon. SDSU is now 8-1 in conference play, one game up over Utah State and New Mexico.

Happy victory Sunday! #GoAztecs pic.twitter.com/UIohTTBzAs

— San Diego State Men’s Basketball (@Aztec_MBB) January 25, 2026

The Scarlet & Black will head to Logan on Saturday to face the Aggies, so maintaining a one-game lead over Utah State is crucial for the Aztecs’ chances at winning the regular-season conference title and the No. 1 seed for the Mountain West Tournament.

SDSU has slowly climbed the NET rankings. They sit at 47 behind LSU, Santa Clara, and TCU. New Mexico is 43rd, and Utah State is 26th. As of right now, all three of these top MW teams are expected to participate in the NCAA Tournament. Colorado State is currently 93rd in the NET.

It’s unclear if Magoon Gwath will return for this contest. The Aztecs could rule him out before the game, or let him be a game-time decision as they have done in the past. If he is out, Jeremiah Oden will likely start at the four once again.

Miles Byrd is stepping up and looking like the Preseason Conference Player of the Year. He scored 23 points against UNLV and 21 against New Mexico. Taj DeGourville is slowly improving as well. He’s scored 32 points in his last three games and has had some clutch moments.

Getting to Know the Rams

The Rams are averaging 77.9 points per game on 50% shooting and allow 70.9 per game. CSU averages 33.1 rebounds, 16.0 assists, 1.9 blocks, and 5.5 steals, all of which are below the Aztecs’ averages per game.

CSU has lost three of its last five games to Utah State, Boise State, and Fresno State. They have fallen to 3-6 in conference play and are 2-3 in road games. The Rams only lost to the Aggies by four points at home, so they certainly found a way to battle against a very good team.

On the road this time around against SDSU, Colorado State must play its best game of the season. This team did win by 10 points at Grand Canyon to begin the new year. Their only other road win of the season came against Loyola Chicago.

Similar to SDSU, the Rams Have a Balanced Attack Offensively 

Four players average double figures in scoring, led by Kyle Jorgensen. After coming back from an injury, Jorgensen averages 13.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 0.9 steals per game. He shoots 61.5% from the field and 53.5% from beyond the arc. The 6-foot-9 sophomore will be a problem in the paint if Magoon Gwath is unavailable. Against the Aggies, Jorgensen scored 24 points and added five boards and three steals.

This performance from Kyle Jorgensen has been silly so far.

The Sophomore from Minneapolis is 5-5 from 3 and has scored 24 points.

40-29 Colorado State with 17:30 remaining. pic.twitter.com/jLn18MNgbX

— Nick Lorensen (@nlorensensports) January 24, 2026

Brandon Rechsteiner is behind Jorgensen in scoring at 12.2 per game. He was non-existent in the loss to Utah State, but before that, he had scored in double figures in every game since November 28. He’s been the go-to guy most of the season. Rechsteiner shoots 44.7% from the field and 42% from deep. He adds 1.9 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 0.7 steals per game.

Josh Pascarelli is one of those players who you know what you are going to get from him every night. He averages 12.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 0.7 steals per game. He shoots well from the line at 89.5%. Pascarelli had two elite games earlier in the season, scoring 28 points against South Florida and following it up with 26 against Colorado. Since then, he hasn’t scored more than 13 but is scoring in double figures or close every game.

Junior big man Carey Booth averages 10.9 points per game and adds 6.3 rebounds and 0.9 blocks. He shoots 56.7% from the field and 44.4% from beyond the arc. He hasn’t scored well as of late, with only 13 points in his last three games combined. However, he began the season scoring in double figures in the first eight games of the season. He has four double-doubles this year.

Since returning from an injury, Rashaan Mbemba has averaged 9.3 points on 66.7% shooting. He has played in only seven games this season and is an important player for this team. Mbemba and Jorgensen are two of three returning players who contribute.

The last player worth mentioning does not score in double figures on the season, but he does lead the team in assists per game at 4.5. Guard Jevin Muniz averages 8.6 points and 4.4 rebounds to go with his team-leading assists. He does it all for the Rams. The senior is experienced and could be a menace on the defensive end. He has six steals in his last five games and also leads the team at 1.0 steals per game.

Key to Avoiding an Upset

The Aztecs need BJ Davis to get back into a groove offensively. He no longer leads the team in scoring per contest as Miles Byrd and Reese Dixon-Waters have jumped him. He’s at 11.0 per game, while Byrd is at 11.1 and RDW at 11.3. Talk about balanced scoring…

Davis has scored a combined 30 points in his last five games and didn’t score at all against UNLV. The Aztecs need Davis to get going. Byrd has certainly picked up the pace as of late, scoring in double figures in seven of his last eight games, and has two 21+ performances. The last time Byrd defended his home court against Colorado State, he scored 25 points and added an incredible seven steals.

Davis has not complained at all coming off the bench this season. If the Aztecs want to continue playing like the top team in the conference, they need their backup guard to continue to play aggressively on offense.

Despite the defense not being as dominant as years past, SDSU remains an impressive 28th in the nation in opponent field goal percentage at 40%, right behind a familiar opponent, North Carolina, at 39.9%. What is crazy is that SDSU jumps up to 164th in the country in opponent three-point percentage at 33.3%, tied with guess who … Colorado State, UNLV, and others.

If Brian Dutcher’s squad can limit the damage from beyond the arc, then they should win comfortably against the Rams at home.

Chris Spiering

Chris is a graduate of the University of San Diego. He is the former Sports Editor for the USDVista newspaper. Chris has covered the San Diego Loyal, and now covers San Diego State Men’s Basketball. He also contributes regularly about the Padres. Chris is an athlete and is a huge fan of San Diego sports.