San Diego State basketball learns dates for Gonzaga games in first Pac-12 season
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The San Diego State Aztecs’ inaugural Pac-12 Conference basketball schedule was released Wednesday morning, and fans no doubt scrolled down to see when they’d play a certain opponent.
The Gonzaga Bulldogs.
One of the big benefits of the Aztecs joining the Pac-12 is two games per season against the perennial national power from Spokane.
Fans will have to wait until the middle of the conference slate, on Feb. 6, for the first showdown between the teams at Viejas Arena. The Aztecs will make the return trip to the Kennel in Spokane on Feb. 27, the third-to-last game of the regular season.
The Aztecs will face four familiar foes: Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and Utah State. Those schools joined SDSU in leaving the Mountain West Conference for the Pac-12 on July 1.
The rest of the Pac-12 includes holdovers Washington State and Oregon State, as well as fellow newcomer Texas State.
For SDSU, the Pac-12 era begins Jan. 6 at Oregon State. The first home Pac-12 game will be at Viejas Arena on Jan. 9 against longtime rival Fresno State.
Tip times and TV networks will be announced later for the 16-game round robin schedule.
Why San Diego State-Gonzaga could become a marquee Pac-12 rivalry
Gonzaga and San Diego State are the two most dominant hoops powers on the West Coast.
The Zags have a remarkable 27-season run in the NCAA Tournament, most of it under coach Mark Few, a recent inductee into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
Dutcher has taken the Aztecs to March Madness six times since succeeding Steve Fisher, starting with the 2017-18 season.
The Aztecs are eager to bounce back from perhaps the most disappointing season in program history, when they went from preseason Mountain West favorites to missing the NCAAs altogether.
The two teams have met six times dating to the 1959-60 season, splitting the series 3-3.
Five of those matchups have come since 2010-11. In the games at Viejas Arena, the Aztecs beat the Zags 72-70 in 2017-18 while losing 80-67 in the most recent meeting, during the 2024-25 season.
SDSU is 2-1 on the Zags’ home court in Spokane. SDSU's biggest win in the series was 84-74 in the McCarthey Athletic Center on Dec. 29, 2023, when the Zags, then ranked No. 13, saw their 59-game non-conference home win streak snapped. It was their first double-digit home loss in 173 games.
New Pac-12 opponents await San Diego State
San Diego State has some catching up to do in the series against the legacy Pac-12 members, WSU and Oregon State.
The Cougars are 6-0 all-time against the Aztecs, dating back to the 1975-76 season. The Beavers are 1-0 after beating the Aztecs in Corvallis on Dec. 17, 1971.
SDSU will host Texas State on Jan. 20. It will be the fourth meeting between the schools and the first since the 1997-98 season. The Aztecs lead the series 2-1
San Diego State’s complete 2026-27 Pac-12 schedule
Jan. 6 – at Oregon State
Jan. 9 – FRESNO STATE
Jan. 14 – COLORADO STATE
Jan. 17 – at Washington State
Jan. 20 – TEXAS STATE
Jan. 23 – at Boise State
Jan. 30 – at Colorado State
Feb. 4 – UTAH STATE
Feb. 6 – GONZAGA
Feb. 11 – at Texas State
Feb. 17 – at Utah State
Feb. 20 – WASHINGTON STATE
Feb. 25 – OREGON STATE
Feb. 27 – at Gonzaga
March 3 – at Fresno State
March 6 – BOISE STATE
Note: Home games are listed in ALL CAPS.
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Bernie Wilson recently retired from The Associated Press after nearly 41 years, including stops in Spokane, Los Angeles and, for the final 33 years, San Diego. He grew up in Coeur d'Alene and graduated from the University of Idaho.