SAN DIEGO – When the San Diego State men’s basketball team and the Colorado State Rams meet on Tuesday evening, it will be for the 97th time in a series where the Aztecs hold a 52-44 advantage, including 40-17 in the Mountain West era.
The Aztecs are 34-4 in their last 38 games immediately following a loss, which includes a loss at the end of a season and a win in the opening game of the following campaign. In situations where a loss is followed immediately by a home game, San Diego State is 36-1 in its last 37 games.
This game is the Aztecs third of three in a seven-day span, which started last Wednesday in a 67-38 win over Air Force. The 38 points allowed by the Aztecs are the fewest they’ve given up since also surrendering 38 vs. Air Force on March 1, 2017. And a 48-62 defeat on Saturday at The Pit against New Mexico. The Lobos, No. 1 in the Mountain West and No. 14 in the country in scoring, were held 23.4 points below their season average.
San Diego State is No. 1 in the Mountain West and No. 2 in the nation in field goal percentage and at 35.5 percent from the floor, and is one only program that is limiting opponents to a combined maximum of 35.5 percent from the floor and 27.7 percent from beyond the arc. The Aztecs are No. 1 in the Mountain West and No. 9 in the country in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.227).
In its 13 Division I games, San Diego State has held eight opponents to their worst shooting game of the season and for three of the remaining five, they had their 2nd worst field goal percentage games.
Over a third of the way through the season, San Diego State is once again trending as one of the nation’s best in defense. After the games of January 12, according to KenPom, the Aztecs are 1st in block percentage, No. 9 in 2-point percentage defense, No. 4 in effective field goal percentage defense, No. 5 in adjusted defensive efficiency, and No. 6 in 3-point percentage defense.
Prior to the Air Force game, San Diego State was the only Division I team leading its conference in blocks per game, scoring defense, field-goal percentage defense and three-point percentage defense. The only MW team to ever do that in a full season was the Aztecs in 2021-22.
San Diego State has seven victories in their last nine games. In those seven wins, SDSU is shooting .445 from the field, including .375 from the bonus distance, and is averaging 77.4 points per game, with an average margin of victory of 19.4 points. Defensively, in those games, the team limited its opponents to a .333 shooting percentage, including .259 from beyond the arc and for the season has limited the opposition to 35.5 percent shooting overall, which ranks No. 2 nationally.
The Aztecs showed California what stifling defense looks like back on December 21, in holding a Golden Bears team that shot 47.5 percent from the floor coming into the game to just 25.5 percent, Cal’s fourth worst shooting game in the last 30 years. SDSU also limited Cal, a 38.1 percent shooting team from the bonus distance to 20.8 percent.
San Diego State leads the Mountain West with 5.93 blocked shots per game and is No. 6 in the nation. San Diego State has received 40 of its 83 blocks this year (48.2 percent) from freshman Magoon Gwath, who is No. 4 in the nation (2.86/g).
San Diego State has wins over No. 21 Creighton and No. 6 Houston, to take third place at the inaugural Players Era Festival, at Fresno State and versus the University of San Diego, California Baptist, versus California, at Boise State and Air Force in its last nine.
Freshman Magoon Gwath ranks No. 4 in the nation in blocks per game (2.86) and No. 4 Kenpom’s block percentage and No. 6 in total blocks (40). Gwath has a triumvirate of five block games: vs. No. 3 Gonzaga, No. 6 Houston & Oregon.
In limiting California to just 25.5 percent shooting last Saturday, the Aztecs have held eight of its first 12 Division I opponents to less than 40 percent shooting, including seven games of less than 35.0 percent and three under 30.0 percent.
Freshman wing Magoon Gwath enjoyed a 25-point, 10-rebound and four-block game in the team’s 84-62 win at Fresno State on December 4. He became the first Aztec freshman to have a game of at least 25 points and 10 rebounds since Kawhi Leonard totaled 25 and 12 against Wyoming on January 9, 2010, and is the only freshman in the nation with a game of at least 25 points, 10 boards and four blocks this year.
In the team’s 73-70 overtime win against No. 6 Houston, the Aztecs overcame both a 5-point halftime deficit and trailed by 11-point with 14:58 to play to send the game to overtime and ultimately its 3-point win. The victory was Brian Dutcher’s 15th win in 26 games against top 25 opponents. Dutcher is the only head coach in program history with a winning record against ranked teams and it was the program’s first win against a top-10 team since a 71-64 victory over No. 1 Alabama in the Sweet 16 of the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
With the Aztecs 67-38 win over Air Force, San Diego State is 97-7 in the Brian Dutcher era, when it limits its opponent to 60 or fewer points. Overall, the Aztecs have won 31 straight when holding the opposition to 60 points or less and are 104-8 in its last 112.
In the Aztecs 100-49 win over Occidental on November 12, numerous highlights were achieved both as a program. It was the first time since the 2018-19 season SDSU scored 100 points in a game, not including overtime games. The team’s 37-point halftime lead was its biggest since a 46-point lead in the 2013-14 campaign. The Aztecs’ 18 three-pointers were one off the Viejas Arena and program record, set on Dec. 2, 2022, against Occidental.
San Diego State, which in 2023-24 reached the Mountain West Tournament championship game for the seventh time in head coach Brian Dutcher’s seven seasons, looks for its unprecedented 17th 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 ever been a member of the league.
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-plus seasons as head coach, he has led the Aztecs to five conference titles, seven Mountain West championship game appearances, a 187-62 overall record and 95-34 mark in league games, both league leading in that time frame, has been named the national coach of the year, twice the Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year and led this team to back-to-back Sweet 16s including a run to the 2023 NCAA national championship game.