Now that the transfer portal is closed and the roster is more or less set for next season, San Diego State can turn its attention to its nonconference schedule.
How about a neutral-court game against Arizona?
It could happen. The two schools are working on an agreement to play Dec. 20 in the Hall of Fame Series at Phoenix’s Footprint Center. Jon Rothstein first reported it Tuesday afternoon, and a Union-Tribune source confirmed that contracts are out but not yet signed.
It would be the 33rd time the Aztecs and Wildcats have played in men’s basketball, with the latter holding a 25-7 series advantage and winning the last five straight. The most recent meeting was at the 2022 Maui Invitational, an 87-70 win by No. 14-ranked Arizona against No. 17 SDSU.
The last Aztecs victory came in 2011, a 61-57 decision in Tucson when Tim Shelton drew six charging fouls.
The Dec. 20 game could be the Aztecs’ fourth Quad 1 nonconference game, with the other three expected at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas over Thanksgiving. They played four last season and ranked sixth nationally in nonconference strength of schedule, a metric that selection committee itted was crucial to their inclusion in the NCAA Tournament despite a fourth-place finish in the Mountain West and a shaky close to the season.
The Footprint Center, home of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns, is not foreign territory to the Aztecs. They played neutral-court games there against Saint Mary’s in 2021 and 2022 as part of the Hall of Fame event. Those were relatively dead environments, unlike what it expected this year considering the venue is less than a two-hour drive from Arizona’s Tucson campus and many alums live the Phoenix area.
With three games in Las Vegas and now one likely in Phoenix, that leaves the Aztecs with between five and seven more nonconference games. One would be a non-Division I opponent at Viejas Arena, plus four one-off “buy” games there.
With the 20-game Mountain West schedule, that gets them to 29 total, the NCAA minimum. You can play up to 31, but SDSU, as it did last season, will wait to see if any dates and opponents fit before deciding whether to play the other two.
That could be another neutral-court game, a home-and-home with a power conference opponent, or another buy game. Nothing attractive materialized last season and the Aztecs stuck with 29, not wanting to jeopardize their strength of schedule with a meaningless game against an overmatched opponent.
Playing in Phoenix makes sense for several reasons.
There’s the quality of opponent, of course (Arizona finished third in the Big 12 and No. 15 in the final Associated Press poll). It’s an easy trip from San Diego, and, given the rigors of the Mountain West schedule, coach Brian Dutcher prefers to stay west during November and December. It’s also an area that the Aztecs regularly recruit.
Another factor is television. The Mountain West media rights contract requires that its TV partners have rights to broadcast nonconference games, even on neutral courts, played by a member anywhere in one of the conference’s states. That sometimes makes it tricky for a promoter selling TV rights to help cover costs to stage the game.
With no Mountain West schools currently in Arizona — Grand Canyon will the conference in 2026-27 — there are no such issues in Phoenix.
Byrd at combine
Redshirt sophomore guard Miles Byrd, listed 6-foot-7, 190 pounds at SDSU, measured at 6-4¾ without shoes and 181.8 pounds at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago. His other measurements were more impressive, however: a 6-10 wingspan and 8-6½ standing reach.
His wingspan differential (between his height and wingspan) is 5¼ inches, which ranks 17th among the 72 players who were measured. His hand size is 8¾ inches in length and 9¼ inches in width, which are about average for the combine.
Tuesday was dedicated to shooting drills. Byrd made 9 of 10 free throws, but his other shooting numbers were in middle to bottom of the 68 players who participated. He was 15 of 30 in midrange jumpers off the dribble; 14 of 25 in spot-up 3s; 13 of 25 in the 3-point star drill; and 11 of 26 in the 3-point side-mid-side drill. That ranked, in order, 56th, 36th, 41st and 45th.
Next up are 5-on-5 games, one each on Wednesday and Thursday. Byrd is on Team Lazare that includes Christian High School alum Kobe Sanders from Nevada, Auburn’s Tahaad Pettiford, Wake Forest’s Hunter Sallis and Michigan’s Vladislav Goldin.
Byrd has until May 28 to decide whether to stay in the draft or return to SDSU for next season.
