For the first time at Viejas Arena in the Brian Dutcher era, the San Diego State Aztecs lost a game against a ranked opponent.

SDSU was previously 6-0 but hosted a very good Gonzaga team, which is ranked No. 3 in the country.

The highly anticipated contest saw many frustrations, but the team had a chance to win the game. College basketball analyst for the Field of 68, Jeff Goodman, even predicted the Aztecs to win the game ahead of tip-off.

Gonzaga started to pull away midway through the first half. For a majority of the contest, Mark Few’s team had roughly an 8-12 point advantage. The Aztecs did not quit and would not allow the Bulldogs to pull away to seal the contest until very late. BJ Davis hit a free throw to cut the lead to 10 with 3:55 left in the game.

The final four minutes were crucial to try and get back in it. The Aztecs had the opportunity to create drama; however, Gonzaga ended the game on a 10-7 run and won the contest by 13.

“We hung in the game and figured if we could keep them to 74 points, we’d have a chance,” Dutcher said postgame. “They got 80, which is 20 under their average right now. We had to hold them in the 70s and then make a few more plays to have a chance to win.”

What the Loss Means

This loss stings, but the Aztecs can learn a lot from this result. This loss means that the Aztecs need to be better disciplined on the defensive end. They possess elite shot blockers, Magoon Gwath and Miles Byrd; however, their aggression has led to fouls. Gwath fouled out in the second half against Gonzaga. He only played a total of 14 minutes. SDSU allowed the Bulldogs to attempt 31 free throws, and they made 27 of them. That is not a recipe for success.

This SDSU team is young and less experienced than Gonzaga. Being more disciplined on defense, attacking the basket, and improving from beyond the arc are all things the Aztecs must get better at if they want to compete with the best teams.

It must be noted that SDSU was not healthy and still managed to keep the game close against one of the top teams in the nation. A healthy Byrd and Reese Waters in that game may have changed the result.

“Our young players learned to continue to grow their game,” Dutcher said about the lessons learned. “Buy into the coaching when we tell you a few things you have to do better and concentrate on those things. We place an emphasis on rebounding every day. We have to do a better job of building momentum. We did some things well. We stopped the fast break and competed at a high level offensively. Everything wasn’t broken, but we didn’t play well enough to beat a really good team.”

Gonzaga is No. 3 in the country for a reason. They have more experience than 99% of the teams in the country, and Few has done a tremendous job as a head coach over his tenure. Year in and year out, Gonzaga is a threat to win the NCAA Tournament. They have had the most wins in the country since 2019-2020, with 152. SDSU is third behind Houston (150) with 136.

“It’s a challenge to guard Gonzaga well with our young players,” Dutcher said. “Ryan Nembhard was the number one challenge. He did to us what he’s done to everybody. He’s averaging 10 assists a game. He had three turnovers, and he’s averaging two per game. He’s an elite guard, and we didn’t bother him enough to impact the game. He controlled the game from the point guard position and did a really good job of it.”

Playing good teams in November only helps later on in the season. The Aztecs will follow this tough result with a Players Festival Tournament played in Las Vegas. They take on No. 14 Creighton, Oregon, and potentially another opponent. The Aztecs can really benefit from these early-season non-conference games by getting the experience needed to compete in the Mountain West.

Player of the Game: Nick Boyd

Boyd scored 23 points for the Aztecs, who led the team. He increased his scoring total for the season to 14.7 per game. Boyd did a great job of attacking the basket and generating offense when the Aztecs struggled to score.

The transfer from FAU shot 60% from the floor and understood his assignment. Gonzaga does not block shots well. Boyd exploited that by driving to the rim and finishing four layups in six attempts. Furthermore, Boyd managed to get fouled multiple times and ended the game 9-10 from the charity stripe. That was a key to victory for the Aztecs against Gonzaga.

“We didn’t execute the game plan to the best of our abilities,” Boyd said postgame. “That’s what cost us. We’re not here for moral victories or to play close games. We are here to win, and we didn’t do what was asked of us. We have to learn from that, and we have to learn fast because we have Creighton coming up.”

Boyd also led the team with nine rebounds. The Aztecs needed that from him because Jared Coleman-Jones finished with just one board, and Gwath only secured two.

The senior is making a good case early in the season to be the Aztecs’ leading scorer. If he continues to shoot the ball at a high rate, as he has so far, at 51.9%, then he will see much success this season. Boyd has scored in double figures in all three games this year, and there is no reason why he can’t in every contest.

Unsung Hero: BJ Davis

The sophomore is making a big leap this year. The team first saw his rise in a scrimmage against UCLA, where he scored 28 points. Since then, he has continued his elite scoring by averaging 14 points per game this year, second on the team behind Boyd.

Davis is playing in a crowded backcourt and has stepped up big time due to the injuries of Byrd and Waters. Davis has started in all three games and should continue to start until Waters returns. However, he may have earned a starting role by then.

Davis scored 15 points against Gonzaga on 66.7% shooting. In the year, he is shooting at a tremendous rate of 61.5% and 45.5% from beyond the arc. Davis contributes with 3.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 2.0 steals per game as well.

Fast Break

• The Aztecs committed 11 turnovers against the Bulldogs.
• Gonzaga shot only 25% from three.
• SDSU had 12 points off turnovers.
• Gonzaga out-rebounded SDSU 39-33.
• SDSU led the block totals 9-2.
• Gonzaga led the steals total 6-4.
• Gwath had five blocks in 14 minutes and fouled out.
• Wayner McKinney III had 11 points but shot only 4-12 from the field.
• Creighton and SDSU meet for the 10th time as the Blue Jays have a 5-4 advantage.
• The last time SDSU and Creighton met was in the Elite Eight of the 2023 Big Dance when the Aztecs won 57-56.
• Tip off November 26 at 11:00 AM. The game can be watched on TBS.

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.