In the week leading up to the Mountain West Conference Tournament, San Diego State made it clear they understood their NCAA Tournament position. “We’re a bubble team,” said head coach Brian Dutcher.
The one way to make absolutely sure they bounced off that bubble and into March Madness was to win the MWC tourney and the automatic berth that comes with it. After knocking off Colorado State and New Mexico, they needed one more win against Utah State, the Mountain West regular season champs, to make it happen.
They came up a few buckets short.
SDSU lost to the Aggies 73-62 in Las Vegas, putting their postseason future in the hands of a selection committee that could very well leave them out of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019.
Reese Dixon-Waters, the senior who came back for one more run after missing all of last year with a broken foot, played arguably his best game in an Aztecs uniform. Dixon-Waters was almost unstoppable, hitting eight of his 12 shot attempts and finishing with a game-high 20 points. He just needed more help.
The rest of the Aztecs shot just 32% from the field, including a dismal 3-for-13 from 3-point range. Meanwhile, the Aggies methodically pulled away, outscoring SDSU 24-12 over the final 10 minutes.
SDSU will learn whether or not they’re dancing on Sunday afternoon. The NCAA Tournament Selection Show starts at 3:00 p.m. San Diego time.