San Diego State returns to Viejas Arena after the bye week for a battle against the Troy Trojans 

The road to 300 wins begins now for head coach Brian Dutcher. He secured his 200th win against Idaho State as his Aztecs continue to take care of business against early-season non-conference opponents. Dutcher has a chance to go 3-0 for the 4th time in his tenure as head coach.

The Scarlet & Black have been without star player Magoon Gwath in two games to begin, but the team has played very well with all the depth on the roster. Reese Dixon-Waters returned to action against Idaho State after missing the season opener against Long Beach State. The Aztecs could be at full strength on Tuesday night for the first time in 2025, wearing their turquoise jerseys for the Nike N7 game.

In the two wins, SDSU has seen a handful of players thrive. Miles Byrd is doing Miles Byrd things, Dixon-Waters is back scoring the rock, and the two freshmen are playing great, already proving why they were four-star recruits. Pharaoh Compton is coming off a career-high 14 points of 7-7 shooting. Jeremiah Oden did a great job filling in for Magoon Gwath, and there is a chance that Dutcher keeps him in the starting lineup for Gwath’s first game back.

Could you imagine the roar from the fans at Viejas Arena if Gwath gets up and walks toward the scorers’ table to check in for the first time? Still, Gwath is more than capable of starting in his first game back. He did so last season against North Carolina in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament after not playing toward the end of the regular season and conference tournament with a knee injury.

“I feel like we are making progress,” assistant coach Ryan Badrtalei said on San Diego Sports 760 with Jon Schaeffer. “I think that is the most important thing as you go through the early part of the season, as you see important progress as you go along. We were fortunate enough to play those two exhibition games because it gave us a feel for what our team will look like in front of fans. Every team that we have played has given us something different, which is a huge benefit in each one of those games.”

Up next is the Troy Trojans, who are 3-2 on the season. This will be the third-ever matchup between these two programs. Last time they met, the Aztecs took down the Trojans back in 2022 on The Mesa, by just five points in a close 60-55 win.

The Trojans were one of the better teams in the Sun Belt Conference last season. They ended the year tied for first in the standings with a 23-11 overall record and finished 13-5 in conference play. Troy won the Sun Belt Conference Tournament and found their way into the NCAA Tournament for the third time ever. However, Kentucky dominated them from start to finish and won 75-57.

A fun fact about this program is back in 1992, Troy and DeVry of Atlanta met for a regular-season game in which Troy won 258-141. That is the highest-scoring contest in NCAA history.

Getting To Know The Trojans

Troy is off to a rocky start to the season. At 3-2, they started off winning three straight contests. The team opened against Kent State for a MAC-SBC Challenge and won in overtime, 103-97. An overtime thriller is a fun way to kick off the season. After that, Troy defeated Furman by three points, 64-61. The Trojans’ third win was against DII Pensacola Christian College, where they dominated 121-56.

Troy followed up an undefeated start by losing two games to LMU and CSU Northridge on the road, two games they should not have lost. Their schedule only gets harder against SDSU, USC, and then Toledo for the Coconut Hoops Showcase to end the month of November.

“(Troy) is a heck of an opponent,” Badrtalei said about this upcoming game. “You know, consistently a 20-win team. A coach (Scott Cross) who has a ton of success, so we know we are going to have our hands full.”

Cooper Campbell leads the team in scoring at 15.8 per game, shooting 58% from the field. He’s scored in double figures in all five games and is expected to be one of the leading options against the Aztecs. Victor Valdes is second in scoring at 15.2 per game on 48% shooting. Thomas Dowd is third at 14.2 per game. Theo Seng and Cobi Campbell (Cooper’s older brother) both average 11.0 per game, making five players in double digits.

Troy has them a big time duo in brothers Cobi (@RedMambaCobi) & Cooper Campbell (@_coopercampbell).

Cooper, who is a sophomore, is avg 15.8 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 4.4 APG, 58.7% FG, 50.0% 3FG.

Cobi, who is a junior JUCO transfer, is avg 11.0 PPG, 2.2 APG, 50.0% FG, 47.6% 3FG. pic.twitter.com/mam0nt0uXR

— Rising Ballers Network (@dylan_lutey) November 17, 2025

The Trojans do not have much size. The two tallest players on the roster are Theo Seng, who has played in all five games, and Evan Griffin, who has appeared in just one. They are both just 6-foot-9, with not a lot of rebounding abilities. Seng averages just 4.4 rebounds per game while his teammate, Dowd, leads the team at 9.4 per game at 6-foot-7.

Troy averages 87.2 points per game, allowing 76.4. They are shooting 48% from the floor, averaging 34.2 rebounds, 18.0 assists, 3.2 blocks, and 11.8 steals per game.

Keep An Eye On: Thomas Dowd

In five games this season, Dowd is the one player making a mark in all areas of the game. He leads the team at 31.0 minutes per game and averages 14.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.0 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game. The forward is shooting 46.3% from the field and 37% from beyond the arc.

Thomas Dowd throws it down 😤

(via @espn)pic.twitter.com/n9FRm02r0K

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) November 8, 2025

Dowd recently scored 16 points in the loss to CSU Northridge and stole the ball three times. He will be all over the place against the Aztecs, aiming to break the SDSU game plan.

What Is Going Right For SDSU

San Diego State is second in the nation in opponent scoring, allowing just 51 points per game. Syracuse currently leads the country, allowing a dazzling 46.7 points per contest. Teams are only scoring at a rate of 28.4% against the Orange in their three games.

For SDSU, seven players average at least one steal per game, with Byrd leading at 3.5. Compton and Tae Simmons both average at least one block per gam, and the team will improve with Gwath back on the floor. The Aztecs are doing a great job of pressuring opponents into taking contested shots.

Key To Victory

Defend the three-ball well.

Troy has three players with 10+ made triples on the season, and then another four players who have made at least four deep balls. This team is going to attempt them all game long. In five games, they average 29.2 attempts. They have made 54 of them, shooting 37%.

37% of the team’s total points have also come from beyond the arc, and they have multiple players capable of making them. Cooper Campbell is shooting 50% from three-point range and shoots an even better 58% from the field. His brother Cobi is shooting 47.6%. The Campbell brothers are also players to keep an eye on for this game.

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.