San Diego State ranked as one of best college basketball programs of last 25 years

CBS Sports gives a nod to the program built by Steve Fisher and Brian Dutcher

San Diego State Aztecs head coach Brian Dutcher. | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

CBS Sports released its rankings of the Top 25 college basketball programs of the last 25 years, and San Diego State checks in at No. 22. 

That’s a testament to the work done by Steve Fisher and Brian Dutcher in turning a once moribund program into one of the best programs on the West Coast and a perennial NCAA Tournament team. 

The rankings were done by Kyle Boone, who has Duke, Kansas and Gonzaga as his top three. As Boone explains, only those three programs eclipsed 700 wins during the last quarter century. Duke and Kansas combined to win five NCAA titles in that span. Gonzaga still hasn’t won an elusive natty, but its postseason resume is nothing short of remarkable. 

San Diego State will spend one more season in the Mountain West and Gonzaga one more campaign in the West Coast Conference before they both jump to the new-look Pac-12. 

Boone’s rankings, explained

“To rank the top 25 programs I dove into every objective data point you can find: Wins, losses, national titles, conference finishes, NCAA Tournament seeding,” Boone wrote. “You name it. I also accounted for subjective data points you can't find -- like how a program affected the cultural direction of the sport and shaped stretches that sometimes spanned seasons.

“I can add caveats all I want to make sure feelings aren't hurt and that programs don't feel slighted or snubbed. What I'll emphasize here: this is a ranking of programs, not teams. So the entirety of the last 25 years is considered.”

The Aztecs at No. 22

San Diego State is 579-254 since the 2000-01 season, which was the second season after Fisher was hired, with Dutcher as his top assistant. Fisher, of course, led Michigan’s thrilling run to the national title in 1989 as interim coach after Bill Frieder was fired by athletic director Bo Schembechler for taking the Arizona State job. 

Dec 25, 2016; Honolulu, HI, USA; San Diego State Aztecs head coach Steve Fisher motions towards his bench during the first half against the San Francisco Dons at Stan Sheriff Center. | Marco Garcia-Imagn Images

SDSU is still searching for its first national championship, but it did reach its first Final Four in 2023 before losing to UConn in the championship game. 

Here’s what Boone wrote about the Aztecs:

“With 579 wins since the 2000 season, SDSU ranks 14th among all college basketball programs and first teams from the current MWC. (Utah State, a member of the Big West until 2004-05 and then a member of the WAC until 2012-13, currently has 578 wins in that span.) The Aztecs have been a force in their conference with nine MWC titles but also nationally, as evidenced by a run to the title game in 2023 that ended with a 76-59 loss to UConn.”

The Fisher-Dutcher Era

Fisher was hired at San Diego State prior to the 1999-2000 season and brought Dutcher with him. They transformed a perennial loser into a perennial NCAA Tournament team that has made Viejas Arena one of the toughest places to play in the country. 

Dutcher was named “head coach in waiting” in 2011 and took over when Fisher retired after the 2016-17 season.

The Aztecs look to go deeper into March Madness than they did last season, when they were routed by North Carolina in the First Four. The Aztecs received a boost when guard Miles Byrd and 7-footer Magoon Gwath withdrew from the NBA Draft for another run with the Aztecs, and guard Reese Waters returns from a foot injury that sidelined him all last season.