San Diego State falls flat in 91-81 loss to Baylor in Players Era Festival finale

Aztecs make $1M in NIL money but go 1-2 in Las Vegas tournament

Nov 25, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; San Diego State Aztecs guard Miles Byrd (21). | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

San Diego State didn’t get the two wins in Las Vegas that coach Brian Dutcher was hoping for.

The Aztecs fell apart in the second half and lost 91-81 to the Baylor Bears on Wednesday night in their third game at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas. 

That means the Aztecs will come home with $1 million in NIL money that each of the 18 teams receives, but with a 1-2 record over three nights at Michelob ULTRA Arena. They dropped to 3-3 on the season.

The Aztecs lost the swagger they had regained in beating Oregon 97-80 on Tuesday night, which in turn followed a 94-54 loss to No. 7 Michigan, the Aztecs’ worst loss in a quarter century. Michigan won the tournament — and an additional $1 million in NIL money — by routing No. 12 Gonzaga 101-61. 

The big picture 

The downfall for the Aztecs was a field goal drought of more than five minutes and a 12-0 Baylor run that gave the Bears a 63-54 lead with 9:05 to go.

The Bears dominated the Aztecs despite having just seven healthy players, five of whom scored in double figures.

Miles Byrd, the preseason MW Player of the Year, scored 13 to lead the Aztecs. Elzie Harrington, the preseason Mountain West Freshman of the Year, and Reese Dixon-Waters scored 12 points apiece. BJ Davis had 11 and Sean Newman Jr. 10.

.@_mbyrd21 buries the trey with a swish❗️

📺: @truTV pic.twitter.com/c0cC5nhdkA

— San Diego State Men's Basketball (@Aztec_MBB) November 27, 2025

SDSU went from shooting 67.2% shooting — the best in Dutcher’s nine seasons as head coach — to just 47.5%. 

Gwath’s foul trouble

It didn’t help the Aztecs that their 7-footer, Magoon Gwath, drew two early fouls and played only two minutes in the first half, and then drew his third foul just 10 seconds into the second half. Dutcher left him in but Gwath had his worst performance in his four games this season, with no points, two rebounds and one block in just nine minutes. 

Gwath was last season’s MW Freshman of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and named to the All-Defensive Team.

Early on 

The Aztecs looked out of sorts to open the game until they hit consecutive 3’s, including by Dixon-Waters who converted a 4-point play for a 7-5 lead. That was part of a 10-0 run that gave the Aztecs a 10-5 lead. But the Bears responded with a 9-0 run to go up 14-10. Baylor led 40-36 at halftime. 

What’s next

The Aztecs will return to Viejas Arena for games against Utah Valley next Wednesday night, Lamar on Dec. 10 and their final Mountain West opener, against Air Force, on Dec. 17.

Back in Viejas next week #GoAztecs pic.twitter.com/GR0dp6C72q

— San Diego State Men's Basketball (@Aztec_MBB) November 27, 2025

The Tecs will then have another big test when they head to Phoenix for a neutral-site showdown with No. 2 Arizona on Dec. 20. After a home game against Whittier on Dec. 22, the Aztecs will settle into their final season in the Mountain West.