Aztecs travel to Laramie, Wyoming, to battle with the Cowboys for a Saturday night showdown.

Just three regular season games remain.

The peak of the Mountain West has yet to be determined as only two games stand in the way of the current No. 1 seed New Mexico Lobos and current No. 5 seed Boise State Broncos. The San Diego State Aztecs sit in a tie for 4th place with Boise State with a 12-5 conference record but do own the tiebreaker. The Lobos are 14-3, while Utah State is 14-4, followed by Colorado State at 13-4. Every game remaining matters and the good news for the Aztecs and Broncos is one more win each secures a bye to the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Tournament.

Taking down New Mexico was an important win for SDSU for not only seeding purposes for the conference tournament in Las Vegas but for their chances to reach the NCAA Tournament. The Aztecs are not guaranteed to make it and need to take care of business the rest of the regular season. The Aztecs do not need to win the conference tournament to make it, however, they are fully capable of winning it and that should be a priority. The win against New Mexico proved they can beat anyone and, in hindsight, were just a slip-up away against Utah State at Viejas Arena to having a chance to win the regular season.

We put on a dunk contest in our win last night #GoAztecs pic.twitter.com/ubQAfGwDxy

— San Diego State Men’s Basketball (@Aztec_MBB) February 26, 2025

The focus is now on Wyoming. A team that almost defeated the Aztecs in San Diego will be even tougher to play on the road in a difficult environment. However, the Aztecs have grown since the last matchup. Despite not having Magoon Gwath, they should be much more prepared this time around.

“We’re playing with a level of urgency,” assistant coach Dave Velasquez said on Thursday to the media. “We need to have that intensity that we started with on Tuesday night versus New Mexico. We need that intensity from the beginning. Wyoming did a really good job of taking advantage of our mistakes. We need to have fewer mistakes defensively so they can’t take a big lead. We have to get into a rhythm and flow offensively without our offense always having to be created by our defense. Even though that is the staple of who we are, we have to get into a better half-court rhythm.”

Coach Velasquez continued on with his response.

“We’ve grown since we played them. Offensively, we are starting to learn about each other a lot better, knowing when a guy is going to drive, when he’s going to kick. We’re starting to rebound better offensively, and we’re making shots. It’s both sides of the ball, but the level of urgency we have to play with to start the game on Saturday and to win any game”

First Matchup

On February 1, the Aztecs defeated the Cowboys 63-61 in a wild contest. Wyoming led by as much as nine points late in the game, but SDSU stormed back with a 20-0 run and eventually won. The two-point win is a much thinner margin than it should have been. Believe it or not, the Aztecs led by 11 points, 61-50, with 15 seconds remaining. Wyoming proceeded to make eight, yes eight, free throws in two seconds to make things very interesting. It started with a technical foul and ejection from Nick Boyd after BJ Davis fouled Obi Agbim on a three-point attempt. Agbim made all five free throws, and then two seconds later, Taj DeGourville fouled Dontaie Allen on a three-point attempt. Allen made all three to make it a three-point game.

The drama was not over.

DeGourville was fouled, but he missed the first free throw. He then made the second, making it a four-point game. Agbim then nailed a long-distance triple to create more chaos, and SDSU led by just one point with two seconds left. Kimo Ferrari got the nod to make the winning free throws, and after making the first, he missed the second on purpose to end regulation. The ending was proof that the game is never over, even if you have a 10-point advantage late.

“That’s part of the consistency of the San Diego State basketball program,” Velasquez said. “It doesn’t matter who you play, non-conference or conference. We prepare the same way. We watch the same amount of film. They have a talented team with a coach who has kept the team continuing to fight and play the entire season in a year where they haven’t won as many games as they wanted. Coach Sundance Wicks has done a great job making the guys compete for one another, and it’s going to be a challenge when we go off to Laramie on Saturday.”

Keeping Up With The Pokes

Since the loss to SDSU, Wyoming has won just one game against Air Force. The Cowboys have dropped to ninth in the conference with a 5-13 conference record and 12-17 overall. At home, the Cowboys are 8-6 and have an impressive win against Nevada but are 2-6 since. Wyoming does have a solid win against UNLV on the road in late January.

Wyoming just has two games remaining, against SDSU and then against Fresno State on Tuesday, ending their regular season earlier than the rest of the conference.

Player to Watch: Obi Agbim

Despite the lack of success winning games, the Cowboys compete hard and are led by a great scorer. Agbim is third in the conference in scoring at 17.7 points per game. He shoots 48.4% from the floor and adds 3.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.0 steals. The senior scored 12 points against SDSU in the first meeting, but the Aztecs’ strong defense shut him down for the most part. He scored eight of those points in the final 10 seconds. Since then, Agbim has three 20+ point games and recently scored 11 in the loss to Nevada.

Key to Victory

“You definitely cannot go down 18 at Wyoming,” Miles Byrd said on Thursday. “The elevation is going to play a factor in that, so we have to be able to not get punched in the mouth early. We have to throw that first punch.”

Byrd, who recently provided an update on his basketball future, said it best. The elevation will play a role, and the Aztecs must not let that hurt them. Finding success early will settle everyone down, and then the Aztecs can focus on seeing success in half-court situations. It is going to be difficult playing fast four 40 minutes.

If San Diego State can get out to an early lead, they should be able to hold it.

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.