The start of the 2024-25 regular season is just a few weeks away.

Head coach Brian Dutcher and his staff have ramped up activities during practice to prepare for the season. Assistant coach JayDee Luster spoke with East Village Times about how they have been building as a team during practice.

Aztec basketball will be played this month.

Before the season officially starts on November 6th, the Aztecs will host Cal State San Marcos at Viejas Arena for an exhibition game on October 30. SDSU has played a dress rehearsal against the Cougars each year since 2022.

San Diego State opens the regular season against UC San Diego at home, followed by games against Occidental and Gonzaga before traveling to Las Vegas for the Player’s Festival during the Thanksgiving Holiday.

“I’m excited by the schedule, the opportunities in the non-conference, and obviously playing a full round robin in the Mountain West this year,” Dutcher said in a press conference on September 23. “We’re excited to start inching our way toward a new season.”

2024 will be the first year the Aztecs play UCSD and the University of San Diego in the same season since 2009. SDSU played both of its crosstown rivals every season from 2006 to 2009 at Cox Arena. This season will be the first time SDSU plays both USD and UCSD as all Division I programs.

“You know, we were just looking for home games, and UCSD and USD were willing to play us in buy games,” Dutcher said in the same press conference. “We don’t have to return those games, so I thought it made sense to play them again in Viejas. We haven’t wanted to play home-and- home with USD for a while.”

The head coach continued on with his statement.

“I just thought it was too risky to go into their (USD’s) building. You know how dangerous they can be at home in a cross-town game, and then even last year against UCSD, we needed a buzzer beater tip-in to win that game. And you know, if we don’t get that game, maybe we don’t end up as a five-seed in the NCAA Tournament and make it to a Sweet 16. So, all these games are important in the non-conference, you try to schedule with great thought.”

The non-conference schedule will feature a handful of teams who made the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The Aztecs will take on a total of 10 teams on the schedule who played in the Big Dance last season.

Non Conference Schedule

UC San Diego – Nov 6 – Viejas Arena

The campaign starts against a local opponent. The Tritons are a team on the rise, and San Diegans should be excited about that. These two schools could very well face each other in the non-conference for years to come, especially now that SDSU is moving to the Pac-12 with fewer teams in the conference.

UC San Diego finished second in the Big West Conference last season. At 21-12 overall, the Tritons finished 15-5 in the conference and lost in the first round of the CBI Tournament.

Eric Olen is 210-114 as the head coach. SDSU leads the all-time series 14-0 and 13-0 at home. The Aztecs beat the Tritons last season off a buzzer-beater from Jaedon LeDee at LionTree Arena.

Ladies and Gentlemen … Jaedon LeDee

The Aztecs were down 14 with just under 8 minutes to go. They stormed back to remain undefeated against UCSD 14-0 all time pic.twitter.com/vKvGjA0m0y

— Chris Spiering (@Clutch__Chris) December 2, 2023

Fun Fact: UCSD is now eligible for the NCAA Tournament as the 4-year reclassification period ended after last season.

Occidental – Nov 12 – Viejas Arena

Occidental will be one of the easiest, if not the easiest, game on the schedule. The Division III program has faced San Diego State 34 times. However, according to a press release sent out by the team, 32 of the 34 games were before the 1955 season. The Scarlet and Black have beaten the Tigers 11 straight times, and the last win was 95-57 in 2022.

SDSU should have no issue rolling past the Tigers. Having this contest early in the season will benefit them.

Fun Fact: SDSU fans may remember Tigers’ current assistant coach Kebu Stewart, who won Big West Player of the Year in 1993-94 for UNLV. He played 15 games in the NBA for the Dallas Mavericks and Philadelphia 76ers.

Gonzaga – Nov 18 – Viejas Arena

SDSU is coming off a massive win at The Kennel last season, 84-74. That win certainly helped their resume when earning the 5-seed in the NCAA Tournament. Now, as a part of a home-and-home series, the Aztecs will host the Bulldogs early in the season in what may be the toughest game all year long.

Gonzaga ended last season 27-8 and 14-2 in the West Coast Conference. Just as SDSU did, the Bulldogs also lost in the Sweet Sixteen of the Big Dance when Purdue beat them 80-68.

After years of dominance in the WCC, the Bulldogs are now headed to the Pac-12 alongside San Diego State. That decision became official last week. Buckle-up Aztecs fans, this rivalry is only getting started.

Fun Fact: Head coach Mark Few won a gold medal as an assistant coach to Steve Kerr with Team USA during the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

Creighton – Nov 26 – Las Vegas Player’s Festival

San Diego State will take on Creighton for the first matchup of the Player’s Festival Tournament in Las Vegas. The good news for the Aztecs is that they are experienced playing tournaments in Vegas.

Creighton is the one Big East team that SDSU faces the most, even more than UConn. Since 2019, the Aztecs and Blue Jays have met three times, with SDSU taking the recent game 57-56 in the Elite Eight of the 2023 NCAA Tournament. These two programs have met a total of nine times, with Creighton having the 5-4 win advantage. However, San Diego State has won three of the last four.

The Blue Jays finished last season 25-10 and 14-6 in the Big East. They also lost in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2024 NCAA Tournament when Tennessee beat them 82-75. It’s rare that you see a team like SDSU this season face other teams who lost in the Sweet Sixteen the season prior.

Fun Fact: Former Utah State guard Steven Ashworth returns for his second season with Creighton and 5th season overall.

Oregon – Nov 27 – Las Vegas Player’s Festival

Oregon and Creighton met in the second round of March Madness last year, with the Blue Jays coming out on top 83-73 to advance to the Sweet 16. Oregon has been known to make a run in March, however, they were only able to make a little noise last year outside of their big win over South Carolina.

Although the Ducks haven’t won a national championship since 1939, they have 27 NCAA Tournament wins and 15 since 2013.

Oregon finished last season 24-12 and 12-8 in conference in their final season of the Pac 12. The Ducks will now play in the Big Ten for the first time, along with Washington, UCLA, and USC.

Fun Fact: SDSU and Oregon are 1-1 all-time, with the Aztecs winning the last matchup 80-68 back in 1997-98.

Texas A&M – Nov 30 – Las Vegas Player’s Festival

Not many expected to see the Aggies make a run as they did last March. Finishing the regular season at 22-15 and only 9-9 in the SEC, Texas A&M defeated Nebraska in the first round of the NCAA Tournament but fell to No. 1 Houston in the second round. They took the Cougars to overtime and lost by just five against one of the top teams in the country.

This meeting at the end of the Player’s Festival will be the first meeting between the two programs.

Fun Fact: Texas A&M has never advanced past the Sweet Sixteen of the March Madness Tournament, losing in all six of its appearances.

University of San Diego – Dec 7 – Viejas Arena

The Aztecs have not lost many non-conference home games over the years. The last was against BYU back on Dec 18 of, 2020. However, USD is one of the few who have. They defeated the Scarlet and Black the last time they were at Viejas Arena 73-61 back in 2018.

The University of San Diego is trying to rebuild the program and started by hiring Steve Lavin as head coach in 2022. Lavin is a former head coach for UCLA and St. John’s and was also a broadcaster for a few years after he took a break from coaching.

Former Aztec assistant coach Justin Hutson recently joined the coaching staff as a volunteer after being the Fresno State head coach since 2018. Former NBA player and Phoenix Suns interim head coach Earl Watson also joined the staff. With the talent running the program, it’s expected that the Toreros will start to make strides. Even more so with Gonzaga leaving for the Pac-12.

Fun Fact: USD defeated UConn in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament 70-69 in OT for their only March Madness win in school history. USD is the only men’s basketball team from America’s Finest City to defeat the Huskies.

California Baptist – Dec 11 – Viejas Arena

CBU finished last season 16-17 and 8-12 in the Western Athletic Conference. The WAC is an improving conference, with Grand Canyon making some noise last season. The Lancers competed at the NAIA level from 1969 to 2010. Went to five straight Division II NCAA Tournaments from 2014-2018, including an Elite Eight in 2018. They joined the WAC in 2018.

This will be the very first meeting between the two programs.

Fun Fact: The Lancers became eligible for the NCAA Tournament two seasons ago after their transition to the Division I level.

Cal – Dec 21 – San Jose Tip-Off

SDSU defeated the Golden Bears last year in the SoCal Showcase 76-67 in overtime at JSerra High School in San Juan Capistrano.

This year, the Aztecs will travel to San Jose in a more Cal-friendly environment to battle the Golden Bears once again. Cal will now play in the ACC this season as they and Stanford joined the conference after leaving the Pac-12.

Fun Fact: Guard Stephon Marbury II is the son of former NBA star Stephon Marbury, who was regarded as one of the top high school basketball prospects of all time. The movie “He Got Game,” starring Denzel Washington and NBA Hall of Famer Ray Allen, was based around Marbury growing up in Coney Island, according to both Marbury and Spike Lee.

The Aztecs do not have a true road game this season. Dutcher explained why this non-conference slate could benefit the team later in the campaign.

“Well, we’d like a road game because we’d like to start a home-and-home with somebody, and it just didn’t work out this year that way,” Dutcher said. “But with a return game up to San Jose with California, it’s like a road game. You know, we played last year in San Juan Capistrano and we had a building full of Aztec fans so I’m sure Cal will have a lot of fans in San Jose.”

Dutcher further explained …

“Obviously, the games in Las Vegas are going to be very difficult. We’ve given ourselves a chance to actually make the NCAA Tournament in November. So, we have to find a way to be successful before we go into Mountain West play. We don’t have to win them all (in the non-conference portion of the schedule), but we have to win a number of them.”

East Village Times wrote a short preview for each Mountain West opponent’s roster for this season.

Mountain West

Fresno State – Dec 4 (away), Feb 18 (home)

Last year’s record: 12-21 (4-14)

Believe it or not, SDSU is just 23-24 overall against Fresno State despite the recent success. The last time these two teams met was last year when the Aztecs won 73-41 in a game that was never close. SDSU has now defeated the Bulldogs 10 straight times.

Fun Fact: The Bulldogs signed the top junior college player in the nation from one season ago, Amar Augillard. He averaged 22.7 points per game to lead one of the top offenses in the nation at Triton College.

Utah State – Dec 28 (home), Feb 22 (away)

Last year’s record: 28-7 (14-4)

The defending regular-season champs hired new head coach Jerrod Calhoun, who coached two straight 20-win seasons at Youngstown State. Both Great Osobor, who won the 2024 Mountain West Player of the Year award, and head coach Danny Sprinkle moved on to the University of Washington.

SDSU is 20-9 overall against the Aggies. The Aztecs won the last matchup 86-70 during the semi-finals of the Mountain West Tournament.

Fun Fact: San Diego State beat Utah State 11 straight times from 2014-19.

Boise State (away Jan 4, home feb 15)

Last year’s record: 22-11 (13-5)

SDSU is 18-16 all-time against the Broncos, including a 10-5 record at Viejas Arena. The last time they met definitely still stings as the Broncos upset the Aztecs on the road to break SDSU’s undefeated home record during the final regular season game.

Boise State will certainly be a force to be reckoned with again this year as they return Tyson Degenhart, who was an All-Mountain West First Team member last year.

Fun Fact: In 2012, SDSU won the very first matchup between the two programs 58-56.

Air Force – Jan 7 (home), Jan 21 (away)

Last year’s record: 9-22 (2-16)

2023-24 was a disastrous season for the Falcons and now it doesn’t look much better losing their top player to Cal Berkeley. Rytis Petraitis averaged 15.7 points per game last year, and the Falcons will miss his scoring.

San Diego State is an incredible 58-17 over Air Force all time. SDSU won 77-64 in the last matchup, which took place at home. Furthermore, SDSU is 9-1 in the last 10 battles against Air Force.

Fun Fact: Air Force has the biggest margin of defeat in the rivalry. They dominated SDSU 81-53 back in 1995.

New Mexico – Jan 11 (away), Feb 25 (home)

Last year’s record: 26-10 (10-8)

The Lobos found a way to scratch and fight their way to winning the MW Tournament last season in Las Vegas. New Mexico, led by Jaelen House, took down SDSU in the Tournament Final 68-61.

New Mexico earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament but ended up losing to Clemson in the Round of 64.

They now look to Donovan Dent to be the top-scoring option for the Lobos.

Fun Fact: New Mexico has five conference tournament championships as well as four regular season titles.

Colorado State – Jan 14 (home), Feb 8 (away)

Last year’s record: 25-11 (10-8)

Colorado State lost veteran point guard Isaiah Stevens to graduation. He joined Degenhart on the All-Conference First Team last season. The Rams may have a tough time finding his replacement because he will go down as one of the top players to ever put on that jersey.

The Aztecs boast a 52-44 record against the Rams in what has been a rivalry dating back to 1961. SDSU is 7-3 in the last ten matchups and won the final matchup between the two last season 71-55 at Viejas.

Fun Fact: The Rams are 4-12 in the NCAA Tournament. Their last win was in 2013 against Missouri.

UNLV – Jan 18 (home), March 4 (away)

Last year’s record: 21-13 (12-6)

UNLV decided to not join the Pac-12 and rather stay put in the Mountain West as they signed through 2032. The basketball program is enriched in history and they are looking to get back to the glory days.

The Rebels contain one of the top players in the conference in Dedan Thomas Jr. Last season, he won co-Freshman of the Year with JT Toppin and is looking to play meaningful basketball in March once again.

San Diego State has dominated UNLV over the years with a 12-3 win advantage. The Rebels and Aztecs split last year’s regular season, but SDSU took them down in the first round of the conference tournament.

Fun Fact: Head coach Kevin Kruger (3rd season) is the son of former UNLV coach Lon Kruger.

Nevada – Jan 25 (away), March 8 (final conference home game)

Last year’s record: 26-8 (13-5)

The Wolf Pack will be a threat once again this season. After a March Madness run last season that saw them lose to Dayton 63-60 in the Round of 64, they looked to the transfer portal to improve the roster for this year. Kobe Sanders, Xavier DuSell, and Brandon Love join the program looking to get back to the NCAA Tournament.

San Diego State has owned the lifetime series 21-8, which included a 9-game winning streak from 2019-23.

Fun Fact: Nevada’s last NCAA Tournament win was back in 2018 when they defeated 2-seeded Cincinnati 75-73 in the Round of 32. NBA brothers Caleb and Cody Martin were on that team.

San Jose State – Jan 28 (home), Feb 11 (away)

Last year’s record: 9-23 (2-16)

SDSU is 49-35 against the Spartans and have won an incredible 13 straight games. SDSU dominated both matchups last year, and it’s expected that will happen again as the Spartans lost their top two point scorers from last season, Alvaro Cardenas (Boise State) and Myron Amey Jr. (Loyola Marymount).

2024-25 will be a difficult season for San Jose State as they try to forge a new identity from the transfer portal. The team did bring in Josh Uduje who won the 2023-24 Six Man of the Year for the MW.

Fun Fact: SJSU is 0-3 all time in the NCAA Tournament and has lost its only NIT appearance in 1981.

Wyoming – Feb 1 (home), March 1 (away)

Last year’s record: 15-17 (8-10)

SDSU and Wyoming met just once last season. After a close first half in which Wyoming trailed by only two, SDSU dominated the second half to win 81-65 at Viejas Arena.

Wyoming hired former assistant coach and recent Green Bay head coach Sundance Wicks as the 23rd head coach in program history. Green Bay was 3-29 in 2022-23 and Wicks turned that program around going 18-14 last year and lost in the Horizon league Championship, giving his team a near shot at the Big Dance.

The Aztecs are 16-3 all-time against Wyoming and have won 11 straight times. The last loss came on the road in 2017, and all three losses were on the road in Laramie.

Fun Fact: Former Wyoming Cowboy Larry Nance Jr. was drafted in the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers.

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.