SDSU Basketball Schedules Exhibition Game at Arizona’s McKale’s Center Oct. 16

San Diego State head coach Brian Dutcher will take his reloaded roster into the desert to prepare his Aztecs for the 2026-27 season. The Aztecs have been officially posted on the UofA schedule to visit the McHale Center in Tucson, Arizona, for a preseason exhibition on October 16.

Tip off time and television designation will be determined at a later date.

This will be the third matchup played between these two programs in the last five years. Arizona pulled away big time in the second half in 2025 to earn a 68-45 win last December in the Naismith Hall of Fame Series played in Phoenix, Arizona.

UofA went on to a successful season in the Big-12 conference and made their way to the Final Four of the NCAA March Madness Tournament. SDSU struggled in conference play and narrowly missed the big dance for the first season since the 2018-2019 season.

San Diego State offseason recruiting and transfer portal efforts have them with a largely different looking roster. Still the expectations are the same—to immediately contend for the new Pac-12 title.

Returning young stars like Elzie Harrington and Tae Simmons, along with redshirt veteran Latrell Davis and untested big man Thokbor Majak, headline a team whose incoming class is largely made up of European additions and transfers looking to take a step-up in competition.

SDSU’s production from the past several seasons is gone and it will be a major undertaking to fill those stats. But it is one many are optimistic about. The reigning Big 12 regular season and tournament champions must replace five of their top seven scorers.

UofA HC Tommy Lloyd resigned a contract extension after being courted by North Carolina and his reward was signing five-star guard Caleb Holt. Also incoming players such as North Carolina transfer Derek Dixon, Washington transfer JJ Mandaquit, Nebraska transfer Ugnius Jarusevicius, and Idaho State transfer Evan Otten.

San Diego State is just 7-26 against Arizona and only 2-14 on the road in Tucson. With this game being an exhibition, it won’t count against the standings but rather be a high test for Dutcher to evaluate how his team stacks up against top caliber competition and what internally they need to work on.

Here is a look at the out of conference schedule we know of as of now for the Aztecs:

Preseason Exhibition
October 16 at Arizona

Regular Season Home Opener (Viejas Arena)
November 4 vs CAL State Fullerton

Bill Walton Classic
November 6 vs Colorado (San Diego, CA)

PlayersEra Festival (Las Vegas, NV)
November 24 vs Iowa State
November 25 vs Tennesse/Maryland

December 5 vs UNLV (Viejas Arena)
December 11 vs. Montana State (Viejas Arena)

Acrisure Holiday Showcase
December 19 vs BYU (Palms Springs, CA)

December 22 vs LIU (Viejas Arena)