SDSU vs Nevada Basketball Preview: How to Watch, Odds, and 3 Things to Know

San Diego State returns to Viejas Arena Saturday night hoping for a Valentine’s Day Massacre of Nevada. The Aztecs and Wolf Pack have had a week to prepare for each other. The last time these two met on 1/6 in Reno, Nevada—SDSU narrowly won a close contest 73-68. With under a minute remaining, Miles Heide grabbed an offensive rebound in traffic and put it back in for the decisive points. 

Now the Wolf Pack come to San Diego with revenge on their minds and a final chance to beat the Aztecs in the regular season as conference foes. The Wolf Pack are 6-3 since that earlier first meeting with losses on the road to Utah State, New Mexico and Boise State.

There is currently 2 games that keep Nevada behind SDSU and Utah State in the conference standings. A win by SDSU 17-6 (11-2) further separates the top 2 from the rest of the pack. A win by Nevada 17-7 (9-4) closes the gap at the top of the standings. 

Here are SDSU vs Nevada Preview: How to Watch, Odds, and 3 Things to Know.

San Diego State (17–6, 11–2) vs Nevada (17–7, 9-4).

Date: February 14, 2026

Tip-off: 7:05 pm PST.

Television: Nationally on CBS Sports Network

Betting odds: SDSU -1.5 | over/under total: 141.5

Surging Defense 

SDSU has endured injuries to 2 starters since they last played Nevada and yet they have gotten better. In the year 2026, the Aztecs have, according to Bart Torvik’s website, been the top defensive rated team in the country. Better than Arizona, Florida, Duke, Houston and Michigan. The Aztecs have been playing overall like a 5 or 6 seed since the New Year. 

This surge in defense has shot the Aztecs up in many metrics valued by the NCAA tournament committee. The Aztecs sit at #42 in the NET rankings and #47 in WAB (Wins Above Teams on the Bubble).

According to CBB Analytics website, SDSU has been in the top 10th highest percentile of virtually every advanced defensive statistic in college basketball since January 1st including defensive rebounding, steal and block percentages. Teams are averaging almost 17 turnovers a game against the Aztecs. 

On the other hand, Nevada has the lowest turnover percentage in the Mountain West. The Aztecs forced a season low 9 turnovers in the first meeting. Will the Wolf Pack remain calm under the Aztec defensive pressure or will they wilt like so many other teams have done in conference play? 

Reinforcements?

SDSU has been missing 2 key starters for weeks in Magoon Gwath and Elzie Harrington. The Aztecs had a week to rest injuries. The buzz around campus is that both players are nearing a return to the court. Will they make their return against Nevada?

Coach Brian Dutcher on his weekly radio show on San Diego Sports 760 said this: “It looks better. I think there is a chance we could have Magoon this weekend. Elzie wants to play and he’s willing to play with pain…..the doctors want him to rest 4-6 weeks. It’s been 3 weeks. This is the 4th week coming up.” 

Coach Dutcher added “I think Elzie would play if I gave him the choice to play but sometimes I have to error on the side of caution and make sure we let him heal up the right way.” 

Price Gouging

One of the reasons Coach Dutcher may want to bring Gwath back sooner is to have a bigger body around the rim to contest shots from Nevada’s Elijah Price. The 6’9 sophomore cooked the Aztecs’ a month ago in Reno with 17 points and 10 rebounds. He also went 11-12 from the foul line. 

The Aztecs need to have a better game plan for Price. In the last game, the Aztecs switched ball screens which allowed Price to be matched up on smaller guards. The strategy backfired as Nevada hunted mismatches and got the ball to Elijah Price in the paint getting and-1 buckets and drawing fouls to get to the free throw line. 

Price has continued to be a standout for Nevada scoring double digits in 7 of his last 9 games since the Aztecs played him last. Coach Dutcher has his work cut out for him to scheme a way to limit Price’s shots in the paint while also not getting burned on perimeter 3s from a team that averages 38.7% from distance. 

Final Thoughts

The game is being played on Valentine’s Day so it will be interesting to see how many couples also have deep love for the Aztecs basketball program enough to show up for this big game. The game is billed as a “Red Out” so dress head to toe in your brightest red Aztec gear to cheer on an SDSU victory. 

The Aztecs must protect home court and a win over Nevada will keep them on course for a conference championship and an at-large NCAA tournament bid. Of all the games played between UNR vs SDSU since the Wolf Pack joined the Mountain West, they are currently 0-13 at Viejas Arena.

A win on Saturday would keep Nevada winless at San Diego State for their entire time as conference mates. Talk about a nice flex for Aztec Nation if they can get it done.

It will be an emotional game for all of Aztec Nation as the university honors SDSU Super Fan Chet Carney who passed away last week. Chet has been a fixture at SDSU sporting events for almost 50 years and he will be dearly missed.

The entire Sons of Montezuma “Kiss The Rings” podcast crew will be in attendance for the game. Please say hi to us if you see us and for Chet it’s 1-2-3 Aztecs!