San Diego State basketball makes big jump in NET rankings after win at Wyoming

The move came hours after the Aztecs' 74-57 win

San Diego State Aztecs guard Reese Dixon-Waters (39). | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Hours after playing one of their most complete games of the season, the San Diego State Aztecs were rewarded with a big bump in perhaps the most important of all the metrics out there. 

The Aztecs jumped from No. 64 to No. 50 on Thursday in the NCAA NET Rankings, which are used by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee as the primary sorting tool for selection and seeding for March Madness.

The big jump came hours after the Aztecs won 74-57 at Wyoming on Wednesday night in their final visit to Laramie before they jump from the Mountain West to the Pac-12 next season. It was encouraging both for the overall play and the team from sea level didn’t let the 7,220-foot elevation get to them. 

What this means

While both developments were encouraging, the Aztecs still have a lot of work to do if they’re to clinch a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the sixth straight season. 

SDSU’s resume was hurt significantly by three blowout losses to marquee teams in non-conference play, including to No. 1 Arizona and then-No. 7 Michigan. SDSU also lost to Baylor two nights after losing to the Wolverines in the Player Era Festival in late November in Las Vegas. 

Due to their early struggles against top teams, the Aztecs’ best bet for reaching March Madness is to win the Mountain West tournament and claim the automatic berth. Winning three games in three days is tough for any team, and it doesn’t hurt to get the No. 1 seed. 

SDSU (12-4, 6-0 MW) kept pace atop the MW standings with No. 23 Utah State (15-1, 6-0), which beat Nevada 71-62 at home on Wednesday night. 

In another key metric, the Aztecs jumped from No. 53 to No. 46 in KenPom.

What’s ahead

SDSU has four games before it faces Utah State for the first time this season, on Jan. 31 at Logan. The Aggies make the return trip to Viejas Arena on Feb. 25. Like the Aztecs, the Aggies will be moving from the MW to the Pac-12. 

Before that trip to Logan, SDSU will host New Mexico on Saturday night, visit MW newcomer Grand Canyon on Jan. 21, visit UNLV on Jan. 24 and then return to Viejas to host Colorado State on Jan. 28. 

Saturday’s game against the Lobos is huge. It’s a Quad 1 game, and the Aztecs currently sit 1-3 in Quad 1 wins, which is the biggest blemish on its resume. The Lobos (14-3, 5-1) have had a good rivalry against the Aztecs over the years and would love to lift one off the Aztecs in their final visit to Viejas. New Mexico is among the teams remaining in the MW.

What Reese Dixon-Waters said

Guard Reese Dixon-Waters led the Aztecs with 13 points and was encouraged with the overall play.

“We're resilient. There are times, especially like when we played Boise State, where we were up big and let them come back in the game,” he said. “Today, we emphasized that we were up going into halftime, and we’ve got to keep this lead. They had a run, and I think I was part of that. I made a lot of defensive mistakes in the beginning of that second half. We answered. The people that came off the bench and everyone that was in the game contributed and did really well. I locked back in once I got back in. We played together and stayed strong and didn’t let them come back when we were up.”