Bring back Goon.

That’s the next big step for San Diego State’s men’s basketball team and its boosters if Saturday’s 73-62 loss indeed denies the Aztecs a sixth consecutive berth in the NCAA Tournament.

Write it in neon red and black:

Bring back Magoon Gwath.

The 7-foot center showed this week he’s all the way back in his comeback from a knee injury and other setbacks.

He moved better, jumped faster, reacted quicker.

The sophomore recalled the Goon of last season who earned conference honors as the top defender and freshman.

Friday night brought 17 points, six rebounds and two blocks that Gwath contributed to State’s two-point victory over New Mexico.

Saturday afternoon, Gwath seemed unfazed playing a tipoff that came some 15 hours after the previous game near midnight.

He looked less encumbered physically than a few teammates, a new development after a season in which the 20-year-old struggled in his comeback from April knee surgery and other physical challenges.

Gwath altered several shots by Utah State. He scored 12 points and grabbed five offensive rebounds.

Less than 20 hours after logging 28 minutes, he went 32 minutes.

It wasn’t peak Goon. But it wasn’t far from it. If the Aztecs do land an at-large berth Sunday to the NCAA Tournament, Gwath looks ready to take advantage of it.

But it looks more likely that finishing as the runner-up to Utah State in the regular season and the postseason, in a down year for the MWC, won’t be enough.

Assuming the Aztecs are on to next season, there’s no better way to get it started than to bring back Gwath.

With the healthy game-changer in the fold for his third Aztecs season, the tailwind would feel like a sustained gust.

Other players considering San Diego State would surely notice.

The whole program would be more capable as it steps up in class next fall by accompanying West Coast powerhouse Gonzaga into a reconstituted Pac-12 that also will include MWC transfers Utah State and Boise State.

Last year, Gwath attracted seven-figure offers after he informed Aztecs coaches on March 24 that he was entering the transfer portal.

Never mind that the knee injury cost him the season’s final five games and that everyone knew he would undergo surgery in April.

Michigan and Kentucky came calling, engaging him in multiple Zoom calls.

Gwath had entered the portal only to appease family members who asked him to check out his options. He told his sister his heart was still with San Diego State.

On April 1 — April Whew’s Day for the Aztecs — Gwath announced his return after the MESA Foundation put together a more competitive agreement that, of course, was still well short of what the blue bloods could offer.

A year later, potential free agency has returned, and once again, Gwath figures to attract offers from the big-boy programs. A professional league or two could also be an option.

For the millionaires and billionaires looking to assist one of San Diego’s sharper enterprises, here’s your chance.

Bring back Goon.

Five things

• Utah State has a younger version of Goon, and that was a problem Saturday for the Aztecs. Six-foot-9 freshman Adian Elamin reduced SDSU’s passing angles and shooting opportunities with his athleticism and length.

• Too many unforced giveaways spelled doom for the Aztecs.

• Coaches throughout the country will try to learn more about the matchup zone defense that Utah State coach Jerrod Calhoun, in his second season in Logan, has evolved to good effect. SDSU didn’t solve it well enough to win.

• If Saturday did mark this Aztecs team’s final game, Reese Dixon-Waters exits the program as one of its grittier performers. The guard played in 69 of 70 games across two seasons — bookending a redshirt year — after transferring from USC.

• Miles Byrd’s final Aztecs game, if that’s what it was, was long on effort and defensive brilliance — including four blocked shots — but short on shotmaking. Only 21, Byrd is just getting started. The lefty’s jump shot needs a tune-up.