San Diego State has huge home court advantage, according to study

The Aztecs only lost three games at Viejas Arena over the past three seasons

Mar 8, 2024; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego State Aztecs fans chant before the game against the Boise State Broncos at Viejas Arena. | Orlando Ramirez-Imagn Images

Any college basketball team squaring off against Brian Dutcher and the San Diego State Aztecs is in for a rough night, regardless of where the game is being played.

But if you have to deal with the boisterous crowd and rowdy atmosphere at Viejas Arena? Good luck.

Recent data collected by Ryan Hammer of the Blue Blooded Podcast tracked the best home court advantages in college hoops, splitting the results into power conference and non-power conference programs.

The Aztecs and Viejas Arena came in at No. 6 on the non-power conference list, behind Dayton, Ohio, Gonzaga, Lipscomb, and Mountain West rival Boise State. Rounding out the list was Middle Tennessee State, Valparaiso, Seattle U, and Vermont — with New Mexico and Grand Canyon among the honorable mentions.

The data was compiled comparing home vs non-home win rate, net rating, and opponent field goal percentage over the past three years, a stretch of time where San Diego State lost just five games at Viejas. Three of those losses — to Gonzaga, UNLV, and Utah State — came last season, with an OT loss to Boise State in 2024 and a loss to New Mexico in January of 2023 the only others over this time frame.

Dec 18, 2020; San Diego, California, USA; A general view of the interior of Viejas Arena before the game between the San Diego State Aztecs and the Brigham Young Cougars. | Orlando Ramirez-Imagn Images

The Aztecs are going to be a difficult matchup at home again in 2025-26, with a trio of superstar returners in Magoon Gwath, Miles Byrd, and Reese Dixon-Waters who could all be in contention for All-Conference honors. Add in key role players like BJ Davis, Pharoah Compton, and the addition of Louisiana Tech guard Sean Newman in the transfer portal and you have a roster more than capable of going undefeated at home.

On the power conference side of things, Arkansas and Bud Walton Arena are the big winners, followed by Thompson-Boling Arena for Tennessee and the Chi Health Center for Creighton.

San Diego State is 0-1 on the road against teams on the power conference list over the past three years, losing to No. 10 BYU at the Marriott Center in the second game of the 2023-24 season. The Aztecs did pick up a win that same year on the road against Gonzaga, No. 3 on the non-power conference side, and beat Boise State (No. 5) on the road last year as well.

SDSU will join both Gonzaga and Boise State in the new look Pac-12 conference starting in the 2026-27 season, alongside Utah State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Texas State, and longtime conference members Oregon State and Washington State.