As September has come, we are just about two months from College Basketball finally starting back up again. It has been a long summer without Aztec Hoops as the team missed out on any postseason play, the transfer portal shakeup, and now the ongoing murkiness of the international clearances lingers.
As the clock to the season has been ticking, more and more matchups have been revealed for San Diego State this season.
USC
According to the official USC Men’s Basketball website, the Trojans will come down to San Diego to play two different exhibitions. One on October 17th against UC San Diego, and most importantly, one at Viejas on October 23rd.
USC finished the 2025-2026 season 18-14 overall, but just 7-13 in their first season of Big Ten competition and failed to reach the NCAA tournament. Despite this outcome, this is a great matchup for the Aztecs. Head coach Eric Musselman’s Trojans have a very talented roster and are expected to be a force in the Big Ten this season.
Of course there is a long, twisted history with coach Muss. His teams in Nevada were trash against the Aztecs in their time together in the Mountain West. The embarrassing losses he had at the hands of the Aztecs often brought out the crazy.
But nothing quite matched his antics like in Maui as leading the Arkansas Razorbacks to a victory over SDSU in 2022. A tough down the stretch loss put Muss in the winners column for a day and he made sure to squeeze every ounce of poor sportsmanship he had.
But still, he is a San Diego guy. Notorious for his love of the Padres, this exhibition gives him a chance to get back down here, though not in an official game. Still working up the courage it seems.
Either way, playing a team like Southern Cal will help tremendously in getting SDSU ready for their first year in the PAC-12 along with their always tough non-conference schedule.
Last year, the UCLA Bruins came down to Viejas Arena for the similar exhibition. Unfortunately it didn’t go too well for SDSU, but it definitely highlighted some areas that would prove to be strong during the season. All in all, it was a great way to prepare for the season and get a good look at the new roster.
No official word has been published by San Diego State concerning this exhibition matchup just yet.
New Mexico State
In addition to the exhibition game made public by USC, a regular season game for the Aztecs was posted as well. According to @RoccoMiller8 on X, San Diego State will host the New Mexico State Aggies on Sunday, November 15th.
NMSU is a ConferenceUSA squad that was 16-16 overall and 8-12 in conference play last season. Led by Head Coach Jason Hooten, the Aggies are definitely looking to make a statement as this is one of the only big non-conference games they have on their schedule.
For a program who routinely only has UNM, their in-state rival, as their most prominent quality matchup, this will be one the Aggies are salivating for. This will be a tough but definitely winnable matchup for the Aztecs on a Sunday afternoon.
The last time these two teams played was in 2014 in the NCAA tournament when New Mexico State had Sim Bhullar at the center spot. The Aztecs that year would defeat the Aggies in overtime on their way towards a Sweet-16 appearance.
The two programs have gone in different directions since then, so this game will provide an interesting check-in of sorts.
Here is an updated look at the out of conference schedule we know of for the Aztecs:
Preseason Exhibition
October 16 at Arizona
October 23 vs Southern California (Viejas Arena)
Regular Season Home Opener (Viejas Arena)
November 4 vs CAL State Fullerton
Bill Walton Classic
November 6 vs Colorado (San Diego, CA)
November 15 vs New Mexico State (Viejas Arena)
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)
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