Monday night's game against the Aztecs down in San Diego will be the first time Gonzaga faces one of its future Pac-12 foes since the announcement last month that the Zags are joining that league once the 2026-27 season rolls around.
The Zags and Aztecs are head and shoulders above the other programs moving into the new-look Pac-12. They’re both recognizable national brands that have reached the Final Four and spent the past decade-plus — and in Gonzaga’s case, two-decades-plus — fielding competitive and successful teams on an annual basis. They’re also the two programs best positioned to find immediate and sustained success in their new league.
Gonzaga’s going to lose its rivalry with Saint Mary’s for supremacy in the WCC, but San Diego State looks ready to step right in and start up a new rivalry for supremacy in the Pac-12.
While there isn’t much history here, a decent foundation has been laid via the school's prior showdowns. Of their five all-time meetings, four have come since the 2010-11 season. Gonzaga has been the better program overall, but the Aztecs have had the Zags’ number more often than not. Last season was no exception.
San Diego State clipped the Zags in the Kennel, 84-74 on December 29, 2023 to drop the Zags to 9-4 on the season. It gave the Zags four or more losses entering WCC play for the first time since 2010-11, a season that also saw the Aztecs take down the Zags in Spokane.
The 2010 loss wasn’t as lopsided as last season’s, but it may have stung even more. That game was a thriller, one which saw future NBA star Kawhi Leonard go for 18 points and 12 rebounds. Gonzaga nearly completed a late comeback to force overtime, but Steven Gray’s three pointer on the final play of the game was off the mark, and SDSU escaped Spokane with a 79-76 victory.
That win helped propel San Diego State to its most successful season to that point. The Aztecs — ranked No. 25 before that win over GU — would climb as high as No. 4 in the AP Poll. Gonzaga ranked 11th at the time of the loss, but fell out of the Top 25 entirely just two weeks later. That team would not crack the rankings for the rest of the season, and had to fight and claw to make it into the NCAA Tournament. San Diego State earned a 2-seed in the tournament that season. Gonzaga landed on the 11 line.
If the Aztecs used that 2010 win to set the tone for a program-best season, Gonzaga used its win over SDSU in 2016 to even greater effect.
In the second game of the season, the Zags thrashed San Diego State in The Kennel, 69-48. It was a coming out party for a pair of freshmen in Zach Collins and Killian Tillie. Collins scored 15 points on 6-7 shooting to go with eight rebounds while Tillie crashed the glass for 10 rebounds to go with his eight points. The Zags steamrolled through the season, winning 27 straight games from that point, advancing all the way to the National Championship.
That's another thing these two programs have in common — they’ve become powerhouses from outside of the power conference structure. While neither team has won the National Title, both have made runs all the way to the National Title game in recent seasons. Gonzaga made it in 2017 and 2021, while San Diego State made it two seasons ago in 2023. Prior to that, the last truly western team to advance that deep in the NCAA Tournament was UCLA back in 2006.
This season, Gonzaga’s got the goods to make another run to the Final. San Diego State, maybe not so much, but they’re sure to be in the NCAA Tournament conversation once again. ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi’s most recent (way-too-early) projections has the Aztecs as the first team on the wrong side of the tournament bubble.
SDSU sits at 2-0 on the season, but those wins came against a Big West program in UC San Diego and a non-D1 school called Occidental. So it’s hard to get a true feel for this Aztecs team just yet.
Last season’s SDSU that earned a 5-seed and won a pair of NCAA Tournament games here at Spokane Arena was loaded with seniors. Head Coach Brian Dutcher had to replace most of his roster during the offseason.
Sophomores Myles Byrd and Miles Heide are the only notable returners from last year’s squad. Byrd is the team’s leading scorer at 20 points per game, but is currently sidelined with an ankle injury that coach Dutcher says will make him a game-time-decision on Monday night. Heide is averaging just three points per game so far.
Offensively, this cobbled-together roster likely needs some time to gel into form. Defensively, however, things should be staunch just like the other Dutcher-coached Aztecs teams that have come before it. Over Dutcher’s first seven seasons, the Aztecs have rated as a top 30 defense in the country six times, per statistician Ken Pomeroy. Last season they were ranked eleventh in that metric, fourth the season prior and second before that. So far this year, the Aztecs have the No. 13 ranked defense.
Gonzaga’s two previous opponents in Baylor and Arizona State rank defensively as No. 53 and No. 44 respectively, so it should be the trickiest test yet for the high-powered GU offense.
These teams might not be as close competitively as they’ve been in recent seasons, but the Aztecs should prove to be another challenging opponent for Gonzaga. And this game will certainly be another brick in the foundation of this rivalry currently under construction.
UP NEXT
Men
Gonzaga vs. UMass Lowell • Fri, Nov. 15 at 6 pm • KHQ & ESPN+
Gonzaga at San Diego State • Mon, Nov. 18 at 7 pm • CBS Sports Network
Women
Gonzaga vs. California • Thu, Nov 14 at 6 pm • SWX & ESPN+
Gonzaga vs. Wyoming • Sun, Nov 17 at 1 pm • SWX & ESPN+
