Copyright San Diego Union-Tribune
It was March 18, or 231 days ago. It’s still burned into their psyches. “I mean,” junior guard Miles Byrd said, “it’s been our motivating factor all summer.” North Carolina 95, San Diego State 68. It was in Dayton, Ohio, in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament, which in some ways made falling behind 33-13 in the first half and 47-23 at halftime and 82-42 in the second half even worse. “With the First Four, those are the only two games on TV that day, and everyone tunes in,” Byrd said. “It was definitely embarrassing, simple as that. You never want to lose, let alone get blown out on national television. “I remember talking to Steph Curry as a kid, and he said you’re only as good as your last game. Our last time playing (a game that counted) was against UNC and we got beat by 30. … I feel we went into that game, not too relaxed, but not with our hair on fire like it needed to be. I think we’re going to be able to prepare all year as if we’re playing UNC.” Seven and a half months later, Byrd and the Aztecs return to the court Tuesday night at Viejas Arena, opening a 2025-26 season dripping with expectation against Long Beach State in a game that will be televised, the university announced Monday afternoon, as part of a six-game nonconference package on KUSI-TV. If Monday’s spirited practice was any indication, they can’t wait. “I’ve got a really good group, I’ve got a talented group, they’ve put a lot of work in headed into the first game,” coach Brian Dutcher said. “Now the journey begins. And it’s always a journey. I’d like to say, ‘Here’s what it’s going to be at the start.’ Until you go play, you really don’t know what you are. “I know eventually we’re going to have a good team, but whether we’ll have one right from the start of the season, that I don’t know.” He does know he won’t have 7-foot sophomore Magoon Gwath, the Mountain West freshman and defensive player of the year as well as a preseason all-conference selection. Gwath underwent knee surgery in April and is expected to get clearance for full contact Thursday, making the Nov. 18 home game against Troy a likely target for his season debut. “I know he’s ready to go mentally,” Dutcher said. “He wants to be out there. We’ll start easing him back into full-contact practice and see what the timeline is.” Another projected starter and preseason all-conference pick, Reese Dixon-Waters, is iffy after missing several practices with an illness and being only a partial participant Monday. Dutcher said his leading scorer from two exhibitions will be a game-time decision. Two other starting positions remain a mystery as well. Dutcher started Taj DeGourville at point in the Oct. 17 exhibition against UCLA and Louisiana Tech transfer Sean Newman Jr. against USD. He did the same at center, giving Miles Heide the nod against UCLA and Pharaoh Compton against USD. “This might be a rotation thing all season, where one starts for a couple games and then other one if he plays well,” Dutcher said of Heide and Compton. “They both have to be mentally tough enough to play a role, whether they’re starting or coming off the bench. I think both have a maturity about them where they can handle that.” Long Beach State doesn’t present the kind of tactical challenge that a loaded (if underachieving) North Carolina team did last March without a full practice. But there are elements of both familiarity and the unknown that make it an intriguing matchup for a program that has won 18 straight season openers against unranked opposition and 58 straight against members of the Big West. The Beach’s head coach is Chris Acker, who spent five seasons as an assistant on Dutcher’s staff. On the roster is 6-10 fifth-year senior Demarshay Johnson Jr., who spent the previous four seasons at SDSU. Nearly everyone else on the Beach roster is new to the Aztecs, and to Acker. He has 13 transfers or freshmen, and the lone returnee averaged 5.2 points per game. They didn’t look so good in a scrimmage loss against Division II Point Loma Nazarene … and looked very good in a convincing win against the WCC’s Loyola Marymount. “I watched them on tape and they look like an Aztec team,” Dutcher said. “They guard at a high level. They’re fundamentally sound. He’s piecing a lot of new players together. He lost an entire roster. I watched them against LMU, where they won by 24, and they looked really good for that many new pieces that early in the year. “I think he’ll have a good season. I hope it doesn’t start (Tuesday) at Viejas.” Local TV announced Six men’s nonconference home games and five women’s games will be televised on KUSI. The six men’s games came available because Mountain West TV partners CBS and Fox Sports declined to exercise their option to televise them. They are: Tuesday vs. Long Beach State (7 p.m.), Monday vs. Idaho State (2 p.m.), Nov. 18 vs. Troy (7 p.m.), Dec. 3 vs. Utah Valley (7 p.m.), Dec. 10 vs. Lamar (7 p.m.) and Dec. 22 vs. Division III Whittier (1 p.m.). The five women’s games: Saturday vs. Division II Cal State San Marcos (3 p.m.), Nov. 12 vs. Cal State Northridge (6 p.m.), Nov. 15 vs. Cal State Bakersfield (1 p.m.), Nov. 19 vs. Santa Clara (11 a.m.) and Dec. 7 vs. Pacific (1 p.m.). Steve Quis will handle play-by-play duties for all 11 games, which will also be available for streaming on the Mountain West Network (link available at GoAztecs.com). Season opener: San Diego State vs. Long Beach State When: 7 p.m. Tuesday Where: Viejas Arena TV: KUSI Radio: 760-AM
