SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State men’s basketball program announced its recently completed non-conference schedule on Thursday, which consists of nine regular season games and an exhibition to open the 2024-25 slate.
The Scarlet and Black has four neutral site games and five home matchups among its nine regular-season contests outside of the Mountain West’s new 20-game schedule. Dates are subject to change following the selection of games which will be broadcast by the Mountain West’s television partners.
Before the start of the regular season, San Diego State will host Cal State San Marcos on Wednesday, October 30, in an exhibition game. The teams met last year in an exhibition in Viejas, the first meeting between the programs, which resulted in an 81-50 victory for the Scarlet and Black.
The regular season opens on Wednesday, November 6, with the Aztecs hosting the UC San Diego Tritons. SDSU leads the all-time series 14-0, including a 13-0 mark on its home floor with 11 of those 13 home wins coming in Viejas. As Division I opponents, San Diego State is 3-0 versus the Tritons.
The team’s lone non-Division I game will be Tuesday, November 12 against Occidental. The teams have met 34 times with the Aztecs holding a 26-8 advantage, however 32 of those 34 matchups came prior to the 1954-55 season. SDSU has won 11 straight against the Tigers, with the last two victories coming after San Diego State began competing at the Division I level, most recently in a 95-57 victory on December 2, 2022.
The opening four-game homestand closes with the return game from last year’s 84-74 win at Gonzaga in Spokane, Wash. The Aztecs and Zags are scheduled to play on Monday, November 18. SDSU holds a 3-2 lead in the all-time series, but has hosted the Bulldogs just once, on Dec. 21, 2017, in a 72-70 win.
San Diego State then heads to Las Vegas from Tuesday, November 26 to Saturday, November 30 to play three contests in the Power MTE. All games will be played at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
The Aztecs open the event at 11 a.m. (PT) on Tuesday, November 26 against a familiar neutral site opponent, the Creighton Bluejays. The two teams have played nine times in total, with Creighton holding a 5-4 lead in the all-time series, but the last four matchups have come on a neutral court and San Diego State is 3-1 in those contests. Most recently SDSU defeated the Bluejays, 57-56, in an Elite 8 game in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Darrion Trammell hit the winning free throw with 1.2 seconds to play to send the Aztecs to the Final Four. The game will be broadcast on TBS.
The next day, at 1 p.m. (PT) on Wednesday, November 27, the team will face the Oregon Ducks, a team that it has a 3-3 record against overall. The only previous neutral site meeting was on December 17, 1977, at the Dayton Invite in Dayton, Ohio, where the Ducks came away with a 91-89 victory. This will be the first meeting since the 1997-98 campaign and an 80-68 SDSU win in Viejas Arena. The game will be carried on MAX.
After a pair of off days, San Diego State wraps up the event with a 4 p.m. (PT) game against Texas A&M on Saturday, November 30. It will be the first meeting between the programs and the game will be broadcast on TNT.
San Diego State returns home for its last two non-conference home games: against San Diego on Saturday, December 7 and California Baptist on Tuesday, December 10.
The Aztecs and Toreros have not met since Nov. 20, 2019, at Jenny Craig Pavilion, when SDSU walked over USD 66-49. Overall, on San Diego State’s home floor, the Aztecs are 21-9, including 8-3 in Viejas Arena, against the Toreros, but in the last game played in Viejas, San Diego defeated SDSU, 73-61, on December 5, 2018. The game against California Baptist, scheduled for Wednesday, December 11, will be the first meeting between the programs.
The slate concludes on Saturday, December 21 in a neutral site meeting with the California Golden Bears. The game will be played at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., as part of the San Jose Tip Off. The teams met last season at the SoCal Showcase and Aztec earned a 76-67 overtime win. In neutral site games, San Diego State is undefeated against the Golden Bears, 3-0 and is 7-6 against California in the all-time series.
2024-25 San Diego State Men’s Basketball
Non-conference Schedule (Dates subject to change)
Oct. 30 – + CAL STATE SAN MARCOS
Nov. 6 – UC SAN DIEGO
Nov. 12 - OCCIDENTAL
Nov. 18 – GONZAGA
Nov. 26 – ^ vs. Creighton
Nov. 27 – ^ vs. Oregon
Nov. 30 – ^ vs. Texas A&M
Dec. 7 – SAN DIEGO
Dec. 11 – CALIFORNIA BAPTIST
Dec. 21 – # vs. California
Note: home games are listed in ALL CAPS
+ - exhibition; ^ - Power MTE (Las Vegas, Nev.); # - San Jose Tip-Off (San Jose, Calif.)