Last year, both the San Diego State men's and women's basketball teams reached the NCAA Tournament in the same season for the first time since 2012. This year, neither team is dancing, and coaches from both programs are already focused on what comes next.
Men's head coach Brian Dutcher addressed the disappointment Tuesday after the Aztecs were left out of the field of 68 for the first time since 2019.
"We had a solid year. 22 wins. Our metrics were pretty close to what they were a year ago, but we didn't have the marquee win, against Houston, like we did a year ago," Dutcher said.
A second-place finish in the Mountain West and a loss to Utah State in the conference championship game Saturday was not enough to earn San Diego State a tournament bid. Dutcher acknowledged that flipping any one of the team's 11 losses — including a defeat in the third game of the season against Troy — could have changed everything.
"The margin for error is very small. We lose one game, and it can be the difference," Dutcher said.
Dutcher said he is already meeting with players to determine which underclassmen will return, knowing some could leave for NIL deals with power conference schools.
"I want guys who want to be back. I don't want to talk anyone into coming back. I'll have guys that want to stay and say, 'Coach, I want to stay, but the money's too great,'" Dutcher said.
One addition Dutcher expects to make is former San Jose State star Latrell Davis, who sat out this past season on a redshirt year.
"I think if we had played him this year, we'd be in the NCAA Tournament," Dutcher admitted. Davis made the decision to redshirt due to the team's already large rotation of 11 regular players.
The SDSU women's program also missed the NCAA Tournament despite winning the Mountain West regular season title with a 19-1 record. An upset loss to Air Force in the conference tournament sent coach Stacie Terry-Hutson's team to the WBIT instead.
"We were disappointed, obviously, with the showing in Vegas, and disappointed in not being able to play in the NCAA, but this is a great opportunity for our team to continue to grow, and get that nasty taste out of our mouth," Terry-Hutson said.
The Lady Aztecs will host UC Irvine Thursday night at USD's Jenny Craig Pavilion, since Viejas Arena is booked for the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
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