SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State men's basketball team is one of four that will compete in the 2023 Continental Tires Main Event, which will be contested on Nov. 17 and 19 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, it was officially announced today.
The two-day tournament benefits Coaches vs. Cancer, an initiative spearheaded by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (www.nabc.com) and the American Cancer Society (www.cancer.org).
In addition to the Aztecs, the Saint Mary's Gaels, Washington Huskies and Xavier Musketeers fill out the field in the 10th iteration of the event. This will be the first time San Diego State has competed in the Continental Tires Main Event and the first time the program has played in T-Mobile Arena.
Three of the teams, San Diego State, Saint Mary's and Xavier, competed in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Last year, SDSU won its conference record 15th and 16th Mountain West Championships (regular season and tournament), and as a five-seed won the South Regional and finished as the national runner-up in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. SDSU competed the year with a 32-7 record, second most wins in a season in program history, and became the first Mountain West men's basketball team to win a game in the Sweet-16, Elite 8 and Final Four on its way to the championship game.
In 2022-23, Saint Mary's had a 27-8 record and reached both the championship game of the West Coast Conference Tournament and the second round at NCAA Tournament before falling to eventual national champion Connecticut.
San Diego State and the Gaels have met 14 times, including five times on a neutral court with the programs splitting the all-time series, 7-7. If the teams face off in Las Vegas, it will be the fourth time in as many years they have competed on a neutral court. The last meeting, a 68-61 win for Saint Mary's, was at the 2022 Jerry Colangelo Classic in Phoenix, Arizona and snapped a three-game win streak for SDSU against the Gaels.
SDSU has played Washington five times with the Huskies holding a 3-2 advantage in the all-time series. The last meeting between the programs was at Viejas Arena in the second round of the 2016 NIT Tournament. San Diego State defeated Washington 93-78 in that game, with five Aztecs scoring in double digits led by 20 points from Winston Shepard and a 12-point, 10-rebound effort from Malik Pope. A Las Vegas matchup will be the first the teams have played against the other on a neutral court.
San Diego State and Xavier have met once, in the quarterfinal round at the 2018 Maui Jim Maui Invitational. The Aztecs emerged with a 79-74 victory. Jalen McDaniels led the team with game-highs in points (26), rebounds (8) and blocks (3). Last year the Musketeers went 27-10, reached the championship game of the Big East Tournament and Sweet-16 before falling to two-seed Texas.
The Aztecs finished 2022-23 with No. 18 and No. 2 national ranking in the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches Polls, respectively.
San Diego State is expected to return starters Lamont Butler and Darrion Trammell, as well as significant contributors Jaedon LeDee and Micah Parrish. Transfers Reese Waters and Jay Pal along with incoming freshmen B.J. Davis and Miles Heide, are new faces for the Aztecs in 2023-24.
Tickets for the two-day tournament range from $35 to $499 for courtside seats per day (prices are inclusive of tax and facility fee). Tickets can be purchased starting on Friday, June 30 at 10 a.m. PT at www.tmobilearena.com or www.axs.com as well as the AXS app. First-round games will be played Friday, Nov. 17 with the consolation and championship games tipping Sunday, Nov. 19. Tickets will allow access to both games on the given day.
Fans can also now book rooms at one of the many resort properties within walking distance of T-Mobile Arena by visiting www.continentaltiremainevent.com. Pairings and game times will be announced later this summer and the event will be nationally televised on the ESPN networks.
Fans can find the latest tournament news by following @VegasMainEvent on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok.