San Diego State loses at New Mexico, dealing blow to MW title and NCAA Tournament hopes

Aztecs squander 11-point first-half lead in another loss at The Pit

San Diego State Aztecs guard Miles Byrd (21). | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The San Diego State Aztecs arrived at The Pit in Albuquerque for the final time on Saturday with their destiny in their hands, and managed to fumble it away with yet another disappointment in a season full of them.

In what’s become a fairly regular occurrence, the Aztecs blew an 11-point first-half lead and lost 81-76 to the Lobos that came down to the final seconds.

The loss probably cost the Aztecs a chance to at least share the regular-season title in their final season in the Mountain West, and almost certainly ended their already remote shot at an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament. 

Miles Byrd hit a 3-pointer with 1:01 left to tie the game at 74. New Mexico’s Luke Haupt, whose father, Mike, coaches at San Diego’s St. Augustine High, hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 43 seconds to play. SDSU pulled within a point on two free throws by Tae Simmons. It looked like the Aztecs had forced a turnover but the ball stayed with the Lobos after a long review. 

BANG @_mbyrd21 #GoAztecs pic.twitter.com/supn8Poeva

— San Diego State Men's Basketball (@Aztec_MBB) February 28, 2026

Deyton Albury made two free throws with 28.6 seconds left for a 79-76 lead and BJ Davis airballed an off-balance 3-pointer, with Haupt rebounding, drawing a foul and making one of two free throws. 

Tomislav Buljan had a monster game for the Lobos, with 24 points and 18 rebounds. 

Byrd had 17 points to lead four Aztecs in double figures. 

It was the final regular-season game between the teams and the final time the Aztecs had to visit The Pit, where they lost for the 33rd time in 46 games.

The Lobos will remain behind in the MW when SDSU, USU, Boise State, Fresno State and Colorado State move into the new-look Pac-12.

What this means

The Aztecs (19-9, 13-5 MW) came in tied for first place in the MW with Utah State and holding the tiebreaker that would result in the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament in Las Vegas, assuming that they won out. 

Instead, they dropped back into a tie for second with the Lobos (22-7, 13-5), who lost by four when the teams met at Viejas Arena on Jan. 17. Utah State had the chance later Saturday to take sole possession of the lead if it beat Grand Canyon at home. 

The Aztecs have been on the NCAA Tournament bubble for several weeks now, and their at-large chances might have been snuffed with two losses last week, at home to Grand Canyon and on the road to Colorado State. 

The Aztecs rebounded by dominating Utah State 89-72 at home on Wednesday night, and ESPN bracket guru Joe Lunardi moved them back into the Field of 64 on Friday, with the MW’s automatic bid. 

SDSU was the unanimous preseason pick to win the regular-season title. Now they'll almost certainly need to win three games in three days at the conference tournament in Las Vegas to claim the at-large NCAA berth.

This was a Quad 1 game in the NCAA NET Ranking system.

Game action

The Aztecs were looking good when they took a 30-19 lead with 5:59 to go in the first half. But the Lobos used runs of 6-0 and 7-0 to pull to 37-36 at halftime. 

The Aztecs were outrebounded 42-36 and the Lobos had 16 second-chance points to SDSU’s seven.

The Lobos were 25 of 36 from the free throw line while the Aztecs were just 13 of 22.

Up next

The Aztecs head to Boise State for their final road game of the regular season on Tuesday night. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. PT and the game will air on CBS Sports Network. 

SDSU is looking for a season sweep after surviving a wild 108-107, double-overtime victory at Viejas Arena.