Before the season started, many knew that the San Diego State Aztecs would be tested in November. The early portion of the non-conference schedule proved one of the toughest in the country.

Head coach Brian Dutcher and the Aztecs captured the moment.

San Diego State arrived in Las Vegas after losing to Gonzaga at home. They responded well after the loss by defeating Creighton handily, who was ranked 21st at the time. Then, the Red and Black battled in a loss against Oregon followed by the win against Houston. On Monday, the Cougars dropped 11 spots in the AP Poll to No. 17, and Oregon moved into the rankings to No. 12.

At 4-2, the Aztecs catapulted into the rankings at No. 24.

You saw we knocked off No. 6 Houston. Here’s how it happened!!#GoAztecs pic.twitter.com/isxTBz2GyG

— San Diego State Men’s Basketball (@Aztec_MBB) December 1, 2024

Against Houston, the Aztecs beat Kelvin Sampson’s team at their own game. Houston contains an elite defense just as Dutcher’s squad does. Dutcher came up with a game plan and utilized it perfectly, as his team did not allow a single fastbreak point.

Despite allowing 73 points to SDSU, Houston still allows fewer than 60 points per game at 59.3. That is good for 14th in the country. The Cougars are also at a +19.5 point differential, which is 27th in the country.

The Aztec coaching staff outcoached Houston to win third place in the Players Era Festival on Saturday night.

SDSU was down as much as 11 points in the second half and scratched and clawed their way back to force overtime. Once overtime started, you could tell the Aztecs wanted it more.

Miles Byrd led the way with 18 points and his play in overtime showed his maturity. The Aztecs scored 40 second-half points plus eight in overtime to defeat the then-sixth-ranked team in the nation.

“Houston is a great opponent,” Dutcher said postgame. “We have nothing but respect for Kelvin and his program. We’re grateful for the win, and we get to celebrate by opening at Fresno in our conference opener on Wednesday.”

Houston will respond. They have an easy schedule in December leading up to a massive Big 12 conference slate. The better Houston plays, the better the win looks.

What the Win Means

The win against Houston showed many positives. Not only did the media, the Associated Press, and college basketball fans around the country respect the win, but the team proved to themselves that they are built for the moment.

This team shows up when it counts. That is why they have a Final Four and Sweet Sixteen banner from the last two seasons hanging in the rafters of Viejas Arena. Those two banners are right next to many more of their runs over the years.

Dutcher did a great job of preparing his players. He mentioned over and over how important the month of November was for his team. He knew that his team would be tested and that they would need to persevere in order to put them in the position they are in now. The beginning of the non-conference slate hasn’t been perfect, but it’s going much better than expected.

“When we scheduled this season, I knew I had a good team, but could we be good in November? It’s the last day in November, and we were pretty good,” Dutcher said. “I’m proud of these guys. It was a daunting four-game stretch with the Zags, Creighton, Oregon, and Houston. But we played good basketball, and we did what we had to do. We split. When you split, obviously, you get greedy and want more. But we were fortunate enough to get two wins out of this event. It was a hard event. It was a good event. We just stayed focused for longer stretches.”

Dutcher continued on with his statement.

“We’re talented. We’re deep. We’re connected. We turned maybe a nine-rebound deficit at halftime to two for the game. They had 17 offense, we had 14. We had two turnovers at halftime, seven for the game. For a new team, that’s pretty good too.”

According to the NET Rankings, the Aztecs are 1-2 against Quad 1 opponents and 2-0 against Quad 2 opponents. Creighton is considered a Quad 2 win, whereas Houston is their only Quad 1 win. The losses to Gonzaga and Oregon count as Quad 1 losses. The blowout win against Occidental will not show up in the NET Rankings.

Player of the Game: Miles Byrd

Byrd is in his second full season with the team, and many people have run out of adjectives to describe his play on the court. It seems every game Byrd does something to really get the fans to fall in love with him.

After his performance in the tournament, Byrd was named the Mountain West Player of the Week as well as being named to the Players Era Festival All Tournament Team. Byrd averaged 14.7 points over the three games in Las Vegas.

“I think this is big for us,” Byrd said postgame when asked if this was a ‘toughness-win.’ “We lost a lot of guys, so a lot of people probably thought we weren’t as tough as we’ve always been, but we’re always going to be tough. We’re always going to play defense. We’re always going to rebound. I’m glad we were able to display it tonight.”

Unsung Hero: Pharaoh Compton

Compton showed up in his hometown of Vegas and contributed to the Aztecs’ success. Compton earned Mountain West Freshman of the Week after his 13-point performance against Houston.

The freshman’s physicality did not go unnoticed all week and, especially against the Cougars. As the backup center, it is Compton’s job to protect the paint and showcase a different skill than Jared Coleman-Jones on the offensive end.

Compton stayed near the basket and slammed it home when he had his opportunities.

“It was great. The energy is amazing,” Compton said postgame about playing in Vegas. “It was so comfortable being out there on the floor out here on my home court. It felt even better to get the win out there against a really good and great Houston team. Got to get ready for the next game next week.”

SDSU will do just that. They now take on the easier slate of the non-conference with three more games after the meeting at Fresno State. They host the University of San Diego and CA Baptist, and lastly, head north to San Jose for a battle against Cal Berkeley for the second consecutive season.

Fast Break

• Dutcher beat the first top-10 opponent since Alabama in the 2023 Sweet 16 and third top-10 opponent all time.
• Dutcher improved to 16-11 all-time against ranked opponents and 3-3 against top-six opponents.
• SDSU shot 40.4% from the floor compared to Houston’s 37.1%.
• Houston led the three-point percentage 45.8% to 36%.
• SDSU shot only 66.7% from the line – 18-27.
• Both teams ended with 13 assists.
• SDSU had the steal advantage 8-1.
• SDSU led the total blocks 5-2.
• Forced 12 Houston turnovers.
• 26-18 points in the paint advantage.
• The Aztecs had 12 points off turnovers to the Cougars’ seven.
• Byrd’s final line- 18/6/3
• Coleman-Jones – 16/5
• Compton – 13/3/1
• Nick Boyd – 12/7/6
• Magoon Gwath – 6/3 with 5 blocks and led the team with a +11
• BJ Davis – 5/3 with 5 steals

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.