SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State men's basketball program opens its 2024-25 season on Wednesday evening at Steve Fisher Court at Viejas Arena against cross-town foe UC San Diego. The Aztecs will look to extend their win streak against the Tritons, which currently sits at 14 games.
OFF THE BOUNCE (entering the 2024-25 season)
San Diego State enters its 104th season of basketball, its 55th at the Division I level and the eighth under the direction of Brian Dutcher on Wednesday evening, when the Aztecs play host to UC San Diego.
The Aztecs and Tritons are meeting for the 15th time in school history, and the third in a season opener, with the Aztecs claiming victories in all of the previous contests. That 14-game win streak is the longest in SDSU program history against a single opponent. San Diego State has outscored UCSD by an average of 24.3 points per game in its 14 previous meetings, however, it took a last second tip in by Karl Malone Award winner Jaedon LeDee for the Aztecs to escape with a 63-62 win last year at LionTree Arena, SDSU’s first trip to the Tritons’ home facility.
San Diego State has won 17 straight season openers against unranked teams, a run dating back to the start of the 2005-06 season and includes a pair of wins over the Tritons: 59-40 on Nov. 15, 2008 and 77-52 on Nov. 14, 2009. SDSU’s last loss to an unranked opponent on opening night came on Nov. 19, 2004, when it ended up on the wrong end of a double-overtime 80-72 defeat at the hands of UC Santa Barbara.
Overall, San Diego State has won 11 straight season openers and 18 of the last 19 to begin a campaign. The lone blemish during the stretch came at the start of the 2012-13 season when SDSU fell to No. 9/9 Syracuse on the USS Midway. Taking into account that the Syracuse game was played outdoors on the flight deck of the USS Midway, the Aztecs have come out victorious in its last 18 season openers played indoors.
The Aztecs are currently on a 14-game win streak in regular-season openers that have taken place at home.
San Diego State, which reached the Mountain West Tournament championship game for the seventh time in head coach Brian Dutcher’s seven seasons, looks for its unprecedented 16th Mountain West men’s basketball title. Entering the 2024-25 season, San Diego State has won nine regular season and seven Mountain West tournament titles, the most of any program that has been a member of the league.
At the Mountain West Media Day in Las Vegas, by a vote of media members who regularly cover the league, Aztec senior guard Reese Waters and freshman forward Pharaoh Compton were named Preseason All-Mountain West and Preseason Freshman of the Year, respectively. Waters returns as the team’s leading scorer, rebounder and assists man, but is expected to be out until early January. Compton was the No. 80 rated player in the nation and is the first top-100 signee since Jer’Vaughn Johnson, ranked No. 26 nationally, signed in 2005.
San Diego State owns a 134-34 record (79.8 percent) since the start of the 2019-20 campaign. That is the third best record in the nation, trailing only Gonzaga (148-21, 87.6 percent) and Houston (148-27, 84.6 percent).
San Diego State prepped for the regular season with an 80-39 victory over Cal State San Marcos on October 30. The Aztec defense was in regular-season form, limiting the opposition to 26.1 percent shooting for the game and only allowing consecutive made field goals on four occasions during the contest.
Senior guard Nick Boyd led the Aztecs with 18 points, three rebounds a steal and an assist in 13 minutes of action. He was 7-of-8 from the floor, 2-of-3 from the bonus distance and 2-of-2 from the line.
Sophomore guard Miles Byrd finished with 12 points on 3-of-5 shooting from the floor, 5-of-8 from the line and totaled four steals. Freshman forward Pharaoh Compton was 5-of-6 from the field, pulled down three boards and had two assists. Redshirt freshman forward Magoon Gwath had 7 points on 3-of-5 shooting from the floor, knocked down a trey and blocked four shots.
Brian Dutcher is in his eighth season as San Diego State’s head coach and his 26th season on the Aztec sidelines. In his seven seasons as head coach, he has led the Aztecs to five conference titles, seven Mountain West championship game appearances, a 177-58 overall record and 92-32 mark in league games, has been named the national coach of the year, and twice the Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year and led the team to back-to-back Sweet 16s as well as a run to the 2023 NCAA national championship game.