San Diego State vs Air Force Preview: How to Watch, Odds, and 3 Things to Know

San Diego State travels to Clune Arena in Colorado Springs to face the Air Force Falcons for the final trip to the Academy for the Aztecs as members of the Mountain West conference.

It’s a matchup between two programs going in drastically different directions. But still there’s a lot to unpack here as the Aztecs are seeking to maintain their standing in the conference and uphold Brian Dutcher’s tremendous winning percentage in February.

Here’s our San Diego State vs Air Force Preview: How to Watch, Odds, and 3 Things to Know.

San Diego State (16–6, 10–2) vs Air Force (3–19, 0–11).

Tip-off: 5:05 pm PST.

Television: Nationally on FS1.

Betting odds: SDSU -12 | over/under total: 132.5

Air Force’s Flight amid adversity

The Falcons’ season hasn’t gone according to plan. They’re at the very bottom of the Mountain West in the conference standings. In fact Air Force is yet to win their first conference game of the season and now are on a 15 game losing streak.

Head coach Joe Scott was suspended indefinitely during this streak on January 17, 2026, due to an ongoing investigation into his treatment of cadet-athletes. Assistant coach Jon Jordan has taken over as interim head coach but it hasn’t made the bottom line any better.

Key contributors such as Caleb Walker—the team’s leading scorer and rebounder—and Kam Sanders have shown flashes of scoring ability through all of this adversity. But Air Force has struggled to maintain consistency on either end of the floor. Turnovers have hampered momentum most times.

In their latest game the Falcons got absolutely rolled when they lost to GCU 81-57. It was a future look into how things may continue to be for Air Force in the Mountain West if they cannot improve in the newly shaped conference.

Time to Cement Leadership Roles

The Aztecs have leaned on several key contributors this season, and against a struggling Air Force defense this game holds no excuses—this game needs to see those leaders shine.

Reese Dixon-Waters has been a go-to scorer and created offense inside and out. Scoring in double-digits now for well over 12 games, he may not need to keep that streak up but at the minimum create those opportunities for others.

Miles Byrd and BJ Davis have offered multi-faceted production — rebounding, playmaking, and scoring — that helps San Diego State dictate pace. But neither have been truly consistent over the course of the year when it comes to putting the ball in the bucket. Their defense must translate into offense if the outside jumpers are not falling at elevation on Saturday.

Pharaoh Compton and Elzie Harrington add size and shooting that can stretch Air Force’s defense thin. But Compton’s diminished minutes due to foul trouble and if Elzie Harrington is not back from a lower leg injury, the Aztecs depth can almost be neutralized.

How coach Brian Dutcher uses his rotation—balancing minutes for production in this unique matchup, will be a subtle but important factor.

Staying Healthy and Don’t Repeat Last Year

San Diego State owns a 68-24 dominant history against Air Force all time. The Aztecs have beaten the Falcons over the years and extended that trend earlier this season with a decisive win.

But Air Force has managed to keep games competitive in the past when the chips were down, including an overtime thriller that saw SDSU escape by a single point last year. It was a late Wayne McKinney coast to coast layup that saved SDSU’s season.

That mix of historical dominance and occasional near-upsets gives this game an interesting psychological edge. Like, we know the Aztecs should destroy them, but there’s always that weird game when there is no energy in the building. It’s a bit of a mind bender.

Ultimately this game is about the Aztecs staying healthy and not repeating last season’s scare—as much about Air Force finding resilience within themselves. And of course everyone wants to play their best against the Aztecs, right?

You bet the Falcons will want to compete harder than their record suggests and the pressure is all on the Aztecs to stay tied in first place with a surging Utah State team.