Brian Dutcher and his players have heard the noise.

So far during the San Diego State’s final run in Mountain West play, the Aztecs have put a lot of talk to rest.

This program was predicted to win the conference this season with the Preseason Player of the Year (Miles Byrd) and Preseason Freshman of the Year (Elzie Harrington) leading the way. The expectations can still be met. The Aztecs have begun their final MW journey before the Pac-12 with a perfect 6-0 record and haven’t lost since the loss to Arizona in Phoenix. They are 12-4 overall, winning all that they were supposed to, besides that one. SDSU is a much better team today than it were when they lost to Troy in November.

Utah State has once again proven to be not only a dominant conference team but one of the better teams in the country. The Aggies are now ranked 23rd in the country and have an even better NET rating at 14. Their only loss of the season comes against South Florida, but that is a Quad 1 loss. Dutcher’s team has a great shot to win the conference despite Utah State’s dominance if they can stay undefeated until their meeting in Logan, Utah, on January 31. It doesn’t look like the Aggies are slowing down either.

San Diego State will host New Mexico on Saturday night for one of the bigger games of the season, as it normally is. This game is followed by a road matchup at Grand Canyon and then at UNLV. The Aztecs are playing their best ball of the season at the right time.

“We’re playing good basketball,” Dutcher said after the Wyoming win. “I don’t care what conference you’re in, road wins are tough, and we’ve got three of them right now. We’re pretty proud of that.”

SDSU’s NET rating continues to sting. They sit at 50 after the victory against the Cowboys. The Aztecs’ latest win over Wyoming proved that this team is capable of playing in a tough environment. Leaving Laramie with a win is always a good feeling.

Who’s Stepping Up?

BJ Davis has been the team’s mid-season MVP. The backup guard is one of the best bench players in the country, averaging 12.1 points per game off the bench. After starting every single game last season, Davis has committed to a role as the go-to option behind Harrington, Byrd, and Reese Dixon-Waters. Davis also plays alongside the three starting guards when Dutcher wants to utilize his four-guard lineup with Magoon Gwath at the five late in games. The last two games haven’t seen crunch time moments with the easy win; however, coming up against the Lobos, Antelopes, and Runnin’ Rebels, SDSU will need their best five players on the floor late in the game.

.@BJDavis_10 goes the distance to beat the buzzer!

📺: @CBSSportsCBB pic.twitter.com/hoiVLvE8yc

— San Diego State Men’s Basketball (@Aztec_MBB) January 15, 2026

Dixon-Waters has been a steady hand for the Aztecs this season. You know what you are going to get from him each and every night. He is going to score in double figures, which he has done in 10 of the 16 games this season. He is coming off back-to-back games, scoring 13 points, putting up anywhere from nine to 15 shots per game.

Dutcher commented on Dixon-Waters after the win against Wyoming.

“He’s shooting the ball well. He’s been great defensively. If you play well defensively, you can survive off offensive nights because you’re still contributing to the team. Reese is playing well at both ends of the floor, and I’m just real happy with the way he’s playing, and hopefully he continues to play at this level.”

The team is better off when the senior is playing aggressively offensively. Dixon-Waters has said that he trusts his shot and that he will continue to shoot the ball. After the win against the Cowboys, RDW explained that it has helped him with his mentality over the last week.

“I have a sports psychology coach now, so he helps me a lot of things that go on in my mind. He’s not really letting me get negative and if I miss a shot, move on, just trusting the work that l’ve put in. We have analogy called TAP, which is trust, acceptance, and presence. So, trusting the work, accepting the outcome, and being present in the moment. I’ve been working on that. I first got introduced to him five days ago, and l’ve been working with him consistently for the last two or three days. It helps even more now, especially coming into conference play.”

Miles Byrd is still Miles Byrd.

Before the season started, many expected Byrd to take a major leap from last season. While that has not happened statistically, Byrd has formed into a great leader for this team. His ability to do everything on the court with a deep roster is why the team is playing well right now.

Byrd is averaging roughly 2.5 points fewer than last season, while averaging the same amount of assists at 2.7 per game. His rebounds and steals are slightly down as well. Byrd was asked to do much more a season ago compared to this year, where he has Davis, Harrington, Dixon-Waters, Gwath, Pharaoh Compton, Jeremiah Oden, Taj DeGourville, and Sean Newman Jr. to handle any pressure if needed.

Byrd will not win the Mountain West Player of the Year, but he remains extremely valuable to this team. When he is playing well, that means the team is getting stops on defense and creating runs with their elite offense this season.

.@_mbyrd21 says n🚫

📺: @CBSSportsCBB pic.twitter.com/GLOuCEnuGC

— San Diego State Men’s Basketball (@Aztec_MBB) January 15, 2026

Don’t Expect Eye-Opening Statistics

Scoring distribution remains balanced for Dutcher’s Aztecs. You aren’t going to see anyone have a breakout night very often. While some may score in to low 20s, it is very rare that an Aztec reaches 25+ or 30+ points in a game. The team’s depth is the strong suit, and this team is going to ride or die with it.

Whether it is Davis, Byrd, Dixon-Waters, or Gwath leading the charge in scoring, their points aren’t likely going to be too far off from each other. Davis is the team’s leading scorer (12.1), but he is fewer than four points per game off from the team’s 6th leading scorer, Compton (8.3). Five players average at least 2.4 assists per game or higher, while seven players average at least three rebounds per game, with Heide leading the way at 5.4.

11 players average north of 10 minutes per game.

Balance is everything. If the Aztecs continue to see success from the entire unit, then they are going to wear down opponents late in games.

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.