MATCHUP: San Diego State vs UtahValley University
WHEN: Wednesday, December 3, 2025, 7:00 PM PST
WHERE: Viejas Arena; San Diego, CA
WATCH LIVE: Sons of Montezuma on YouTube
After a mildly disappointing showing at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas during Feast Week, San Diego State’s men’s basketball team returns home to hit the hardwood tonight against Utah Valley.
The Aztecs finished 1-2 at the PlayersEra Fest, getting pummeled by 40 to Michigan, rebounding for a nice 97-80 win over Oregon and finishing with a 91-81 loss to Baylor.
SDSU comes into the game with a 3-3 record including a brutal home loss to Troy. The Aztecs’ at-large NCAA tournament bid hopes are fading and may hinge on a showdown with #2 Arizona in Phoenix on December 20th.
But first SDSU must not overlook another test in Utah Valley.
The Wolverines are coached by Todd Phillips, the 2025 WAC coach of the year. Utah Valley won the WAC regular season a year ago but were upset in the WAC tournament championship game by Grand Canyon.
Utah Valley brought back 3 key players from last year’s rotation in 6’4 point guard Trevon Leonhardt, 6’7 wing Jackson Holcombe and 6’8 forward Hayden Welling. They filled the rest of it with transfers: Tyler Hendricks, a slashing 6’5 guard from UCF, Isaac Davis a 6’8 240 lb center from Utah State.
Troy 2.0?
No one expected Troy would give the Aztecs problems when they played last month in Viejas Arena. SDSU came out sluggish however and dug themselves a hole they just couldn’t get out of in a shocking 108-107 loss in double OT. It was the worst out of conference home loss since Brown in the 2018-2019 season: the last time an Aztec team was left out of the NCAA tournament.
If you thought Troy was tough competition then you better pay attention to Utah Valley. The 5-2 Wolverines are ranked #89 on KenPom.com to the Aztecs’ #50. KenPom factors in last year’s results when determining early season rankings so the rankings may be closer than they appear.
According to CBB Analytics official site they rate teams based on their net efficiency ratings (offensive efficiency minus defensive efficiency). Utah Valley has a better net efficiency rating adjusted for competition of 17.7 than the Aztecs’ 8.6.
Ouch.
Looking at those figures, the Wolverines are the 3rd best team the Aztecs will face so far this season. Yes, better than Oregon. The Aztecs better come prepared for a battle or they may find themselves on the losing end again.
Defend the Paint
So you may ask what does this tiny school out of Utah exactly do and how exactly can the Aztecs stop them? Well, Utah Valley makes a living at scoring in the paint where they average 44 points per game. That’s 56% of their scoring production.
The Aztecs by comparison only average 30 points per game in the paint. Players like Holcombe like to drive into the lane and can finish with both hands.
Utah Valley does a good job of passing off to teammates when defensive help comes—leading to easy, uncontested shots. The unselfishness however makes them vulnerable to turnovers.
Turnovers to Transition Buckets
Utah Valley averages 14 turnovers per game. However, they are good at getting back in transition defense and not allowing fast break points to crush them. The Aztecs must beat them at their own game and push the pace off of turnovers to get points at the rim in transition.
The Aztecs should also be in attack mode this game and not settle for shooting midrange shots. The most lopsided loss for Utah Valley was at Boise State 101-77 and was the result of the Broncos relentlessly attacking the basket. On the night Boise State got to foul line 34 times and hitting 27 foul shots.
Utah Valley is a finesse team that needs to be beaten into submission by brute force. The last time around at Viejas, the Aztecs were the hunted against Troy. Dutcher’s team must turn the tables and become the hunters against Utah Valley.
Tune in Wednesday night and watch the game with us here at sonsofmontezuma.com and on our YouTube channel. Thanks to CSM Creator’s Sports Network, Sons of Montezuma will be live-streaming select SDSU basketball official broadcasts this season. Tip-off is schedule for 7:00pm PST, so check in just shortly before then and we will have all the action!
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