San Diego State stunned at Colorado State, NCAA Tournament hopes take another hit

Magoon Gwath has just 1 point in only 5 minutes as Aztecs lose second straight game

Feb 21, 2026; Fort Collins, Colorado, USA; San Diego State Aztecs guard Taj Degourville (24) controls the ball as Colorado State Rams forward Jevin Muniz (55) guards in the first half at Moby Arena. | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

The San Diego State Aztecs didn’t look like the unanimous preseason choice to win the Mountain West regular-season title and Colorado State didn’t look like a team sitting in eighth place. 

The result was another disappointing loss for the Aztecs, 83-74 at Colorado State on Saturday to further hurt their resume for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. 

With big man Magoon Gwath mysteriously playing only five minutes in the game, the Aztecs fell behind by double digits late in the first half and never recovered. They took their second straight loss and dropped 1 ½ games behind Utah State in the race for the regular-season title. The Aggies could push it to two games if they win at Nevada on Saturday night. 

Additionally, the Aztecs (18-8, 12-4) dropped closer to a second-place tie with New Mexico, which visited Fresno State later Saturday. 

The Aztecs have been on the NCAA Tournament bubble for a few weeks now and have hurt their at-large chances even further by losing by 10 points at home to Grand Canyon on Tuesday night and then losing at altitude to the Rams, a team they beat by 23 points at Viejas Arena three weeks ago. 

The Aztecs were held to just 38.3% shooting from the field. Reese Dixon-Waters scored 16 points and  Miles Byrd had 15. 

Colorado State’s Jase Butler had a game-high 25 points and Carey Booth scored 22. 

Booth posterized Miles Heide with a dunk in the first half and pretty much sealed it with another big dunk for a 74-63 lead with about 2 minutes left

What this means

The Aztecs envisioned beating the Rams and then playing for a share of first place on Tuesday night when Utah State visited Viejas Arena. But if the Aggies win at Nevada on Saturday night, the Aztecs will simply be playing for survival when they host the Aggies, who took a 71-66 win at Logan on Jan. 31. 

The Aztecs have three Quad 1 opportunities in their four remaining games, at home against USU and then on the road against New Mexico and Boise State. 

Otherwise, their only chance at reaching the NCAA Tournament for the sixth straight season will be to win the MW tournament in their final season as league members and claim the automatic berth. 

Game action

The Aztecs were back to full strength with the return of freshman guard Elzie Harrington. But he didn’t score in 18 minutes and Gwath mysteriously played only five minutes, all in the first half, and had just one point. Gwath recently returned from a layoff due to a hip flexor injury, but he also had shed a knee brace. He had surgery on his right knee in late April. 

CSU (17-10, 8-8) made 13 of 31 3-pointers, including five by Brandon Rechsteiner 

Up next

Utah State comes into Viejas Arena on Tuesday night for SDSU’s penultimate home game. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. PT and the game will air on FS1.