Fresh off their electrifying win over UNLV, the two-seed San Diego State begins preparation for the Mountain West Tournament in Las Vegas this week. The Aztecs will play on Thursday at 6 p.m. against the winner of the first-round game between the seven-seed Colorado State and the 10-seed Fresno State.
Going into the tournament, the Aztecs hold a 1-1 record against Colorado State and a 1-0 record against Fresno State, and have a 20-10 record overall.
“We’re excited to play either Colorado State or Fresno State and try to get a title and play our way into the NCAA tournament,” head coach Brian Dutcher said at a press conference on Tuesday. “We have to go with the intention of winning the event. That’s what our plan is, and we know it’ll be hard fought.”
With the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year Miles Byrd anchoring the Aztecs’ defense, discipline on that end of the floor has become a defining part of SDSU’s identity. Still, Dutcher emphasized offense as an area that must be improved before heading into tournament play.
“I know one thing, we have to rebound better,” Dutcher explained. “We’re trying to get more efficient offensively.”
At the same time, Dutcher stressed the importance of balancing practice intensity this week, given the high stakes of the tournament and the physical toll of potentially playing multiple games in consecutive days.
“You have to be healthy to have a chance. And so as much as we want to practice and improve at a lot of things, we have to rest [our] bodies too so that we’re fresh when game time starts.”
The message from the coaching staff has been clear, but the responsibility now falls on the players. For senior guard Reese Dixon-Waters, the mindset is simple: “winning at all costs” heading into the tournament, while remaining unselfish and focused on doing whatever the team needs.
And while the focus inside the program remains steady, not everyone outside shares that belief.
The locker room seems united on what it will take to win the Mountain West championship.
“The people might not believe, but I think we got a lot of dogs on this team,” Byrd said. Despite the ups and downs the Aztecs have faced this season, Byrd remains confident the team can make an impactful run.
“I’m confident in this group of guys that we can go in with the right mindset,” Byrd continued. “I think we have a really good chance.”
After a season filled with progression and setbacks, the Aztecs now find themselves with a chance to define their final run at a Mountain West championship and leave a lasting mark on the conference they’ve called home.
With this marking their final chance to capture a Mountain West championship before moving to the Pac-12 in 2026-27, SDSU enters Las Vegas believing it can make a statement. The path won’t be easy, but for a team that prides itself on toughness, that’s exactly how they want it.
