The 2025-26 season is still very young.

After seven games, head coach Brian Dutcher and his team are 4-3 after a close win against Utah Valley last Tuesday night. The Wolverines were down only three points with just over three minutes to go in the game before the Aztecs pulled away late to win by 11.

In the seven games played, Dutcher utilized three different starting lineups, and every player has had a chance to play minutes down the stretch late in the second half. The team has yet to see any real consistency, and the defense is playing the worst it has played in years. There has been one shining light, and that has been the bench unit stepping up and scoring when needed. This is one of two key areas where the extended depth is paying off. The other has been guys filling in for early-season injuries.

Dutcher has a deep roster full of talent, and it is his job to help navigate his players past the frustrations. There is plenty of time for Dutcher and his staff to get this team where they want to be.

“When you lose a couple of games, you say ‘are you gonna give in or are you gonna fight and get a win,’ and they fought through and got a win…” Dutcher said after the win against Utah Valley. “Basketball is hard. Every win is so important, and a loss can happen anywhere to anybody. So, winning games is hard, and we gotta enjoy one, and we are going to enjoy winning.”

The Aztecs started the season with two easy wins against Long Beach State and Idaho State; however, they were stunned at Viejas Arena against Troy in double overtime, losing by just one point.

Magoon Gwath did not play in the two wins to begin, as he was still recovering from his knee injury. Forwards Jeremiah Oden (who started in place of Gwath) and Tae Simmons saw increased minutes because of it. Gwath returned off the bench against Troy and played very well, hitting clutch shots and playing his usual standout defense. Since Gwath’s debut, however, he has had to endure some growing pains.

Gwath has the highest ceiling on the team. There is no doubt about that. His ability to block a shot with ease and turn around and hit a three-pointer or slam home a dunk on the fast break is what makes him very special. He can hit shots from anywhere on the court.

The issue is that the consistency hasn’t been there with Gwath on both sides of the ball. He’s still trying to get back into his groove, as being in game-shape is a whole different animal than just being healthy. The 7-footer did not score against Baylor and played only nine minutes because of foul trouble. In two other games this year, he has scored only seven points.

Dutcher explained Gwath’s process after playing only 16 minutes against Utah Valley.

“Right now, it is a struggle for Goon because he is trying to play himself back into shape. Anybody who has watched Magoon play over the last two years knows that he was not what he was one year ago, cause it is just taking time for him to get into game shape. At times, we will rotate Goon into that center spot and play JO (Oden) and Tae at the power forward as Goon works his way back into shape.”

“We played Goon today, maybe 3-4 minute stretches. Coming out of Vegas, he got sick and had a bad ankle, so that all slows down the recovery. He’s on the right track to come back, and I told him that when he came back. ‘As ready as you think in your mind you are, it’s going to take a while physically to get back to where you want to get.’ He will get there, but he is not there yet.”

Gwath is not alone. Miles Byrd, Reese Dixon-Waters, Taj DeGourville, and even Elzie Harrington are all going through growing pains, despite their status as the top players on this team.

Byrd did not score against Utah Valley, but deserves a ton of credit for playing through an illness. He was unable to really make an impact on the game. Though scoring has been a problem for Byrd this season. He did score 24 against Troy in double overtime, and his half-court shot saved the game at the time. However, Byrd has four total games with seven or fewer points. Byrd is second on the team in minutes per game at 27.7.

It is clear that the leader of this team is playing below expectations at the moment. He has a small wrist injury and has been sick. Once Byrd feels back to his usual self, his play should begin to pick up. The junior has proven time and time again that he elevates his game when needed the most.

Dixon-Waters has scored in double figures in four of his six games played. He leads the team in minutes at 29.5 per game and continues to be a reliable scorer in crunch time. After not scoring any points in the first half against Utah Valley, RDW flipped the switch late and scored seven points to help seal the game. He ended 3-10 from the floor, and until late, he never could get into a rhythm.

Because the team has a ton of depth, some players aren’t able to find a groove on the floor. We have seen different players in different moments throughout the season struggling to score. The constant rotations after 3-4 minutes can be hurting some players’ rhythm. Having 10-11 players on the team capable of playing 15+ minutes a night is a great problem to have. Despite that, some players’ growth will be affected.

These are all a part of the early-season frustrations.

There were moments in the game against Utah Valley where the Aztecs turned the ball over multiple times from an unexpected half-court trap/press. Guard BJ Davis spoke about it postgame.

“We just gotta be more organized,” Davis said. They jumped into the press, and we weren’t ready for it at the time and weren’t organized. We gotta tighten up.”

Even with all the mistakes and frustrations, the two freshmen, Harrington and Simmons, have been bright spots on this roster early in the season. They have shown that they can contribute when needed at any time. Harrington has emerged as a starter in the last two games, and that could continue moving forward. It is unlikely, but Simmons could find himself in the starting lineup if he continues to play way above expectations.

Davis is a great two-way player. He is arguably the best on-ball defender in the conference and is averaging 12.1 points per game, thanks to his last five games, where he scored in double figures. Davis is also elite at drawing fouls and is 28-29 from the free-throw line on the season. There is an argument to be made that he and Simmons deserve more minutes, even though Davis is third on the team at 20.3 per game.

Dutcher has had a difficult job coming up with rotations that lead to consistent play on both sides of the ball. This will improve. A big part of what makes this team elite is that they always rotate fresh legs on the floor for defensive purposes. The Aztecs’ “ruthless aggression” wears opponents down. It hasn’t really shown up over the last few weeks, but in due time, the Aztecs’ defense will begin to dominate.

The bench is scoring the rock very well. The Aztecs did something against Utah Valley that hadn’t been done since 1996-97, and that was score 59 bench points, which was 76.6% of the team’s total points (77).

The beginning of the Aztecs’ final season in the Mountain West has been confusing. The good news is that Dutcher has a lot of tools and experience to help get his team in position to be successful on any given night.

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.