2020–21 San Diego State Aztecs men's basketball team

The 2020–21 San Diego State Aztecs men's basketball team represented San Diego State University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Aztecs, led by fourth-year head coach Brian Dutcher, played their home games at Viejas Arena as members in the Mountain West Conference. The Aztecs finished the season 23–5, 14–3 in Mountain West play to win the regular season championship. In the Mountain West tournament, they defeated Wyoming, Nevada, and Utah State to win the tournament championship. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 6 seed in the Midwest region. There they lost in the first round to Syracuse.

2020–21 San Diego State Aztecs men's basketball
Mountain West regular season champions Mountain West tournament champions
NCAA tournament, first round
Conference	Mountain West Conference
Ranking
AP	No. 16
Record	23–5 (14–3 MW)
Head coach	Brian Dutcher (4th season)
Assistant coaches	Dave Velasquez Chris Acker Jay Morris
Offensive scheme	Wheel
Base defense	Pack-Line
Home arena	Viejas Arena (Capacity: 12,414)
Seasons ← 2019–20 2021–22 →

2020–21 Mountain West Conference
men's basketball standings

	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 16 San Diego State†	14	–	3		.824			23	–	5		.821
Utah State	15	–	4		.789			20	–	9		.690
Colorado State	14	–	4		.778			20	–	8		.714
Boise State	14	–	6		.700			19	–	9		.679
Nevada	10	–	7		.588			16	–	10		.615
Fresno State	9	–	11		.450			12	–	12		.500
UNLV	8	–	10		.444			12	–	15		.444
Wyoming	7	–	9		.438			14	–	11		.560
San Jose State	3	–	13		.188			5	–	16		.238
Air Force	3	–	17		.150			5	–	20		.200
New Mexico	2	–	15		.118			6	–	16		.273
† Conference tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

Previous season

The Aztecs finished the 2019–20 season 30–2, 17–1 in Mountain West play to be regular season Mountain West champions. They defeated Air Force and Boise State to reach the championship game of the Mountain West tournament where they lost to Utah State. Although they were a virtual lock to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, on March 12 the NCAA Tournament was cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

2020 recruiting class

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Lamont Butler PG	Riverside, CA	Riverside Polytech High School	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Jun 19, 2019
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (80)
Che Evans SF	Baltimore, MD	Dulaney High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Sep 12, 2019
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (79)
Keith Dinwiddie SG	Culver City, CA	Fairfax High School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Sep 10, 2019
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (NR)
Overall recruit ranking:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2020 San Diego St. Basketball Commitment List". Rivals. "2020 San Diego St. Player Commits". ESPN. "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.

Roster

2020–21 San Diego State Aztecs men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown F 0 Keshad Johnson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So San Leandro HS Oakland, California G 2 Adam Seiko 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Jr Sierra Canyon HS Boston, Massachusetts G 3 Terrell Gomez 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Sr Inglewood HS CSUN Los Angeles, California G 4 Trey Pulliam 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr A&M Consolidated HS Navarro College Bryan, Texas G 5 Lamont Butler 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Riverside Poly HS Moreno Valley, California G 10 Keith Dinwiddie Jr. 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Fairfax HS Los Angeles, California F 11 Matt Mitchell 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Sr Roosevelt HS Riverside, California F 12 Che Evans 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Saint Maria Goretti HS Philadelphia, Pennsylvania F 14 Cade Alger 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Fr Ripon Christian HS Seattle Ripon, California G 20 Jordan Schakel 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Bishop Montgomery HS Torrance, California G 21 Jared Barnett 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 145 lb (66 kg) So Westchester HS Los Angeles, California F 23 Joshua Tomaić 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Sr Canarias Basketball Academy Maryland Lanzarote, Spain G 24 Tyler Broughton 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Tesoro HS Ladera Ranch, California F 31 Nathan Mensah 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Jr Findlay Prep Accra, Ghana G 32 Derek Morhar 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Calabasas HS Calabasas, California F 33 Aguek Arop 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr Omaha South HS Omaha, Nebraska G 42 Triston Broughton 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Tesoro HS Ladera Ranch, California	Head coach Brian Dutcher (Minnesota) Assistant coach(es) Dave Velasquez (San Diego State) Chris Acker (Chaminade) Jay Morris (Cal State Dominguez Hills) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: November 19, 2020

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
November 25, 2020* 8:00 pm, CBSSN		No. 22 UCLA	W 73–58	1–0	15 – Tied	7 – Mensah	6 – Pulliam	Viejas Arena  San Diego, CA
November 27, 2020* 4:00 pm, Yurview		UC Irvine	W 77–58	2–0	14 – Johnson	7 – Arop	3 – Tomaic	Viejas Arena  San Diego, CA
December 2, 2020* 6:00 pm		Saint Katherine	W 83–41	3–0	16 – Schakel	7 – Mensah	4 – Pulliam	Viejas Arena  San Diego, CA
December 6, 2020* 1:30 pm, Yurview		Pepperdine	W 65–60	4–0	17 – Schakel	6 – Mensah	3 – Tied	Viejas Arena  San Diego, CA
December 10, 2020* 7:00 pm, FS1	No. 24	at No. 23 Arizona State	W 80–68	5–0	25 – Schakel	15 – Mensah	4 – Gomez	Desert Financial Arena  Tempe, AZ
December 18, 2020* 2:00 pm, CBSSN	No. 18	BYU	L 62–72	5–1	35 – Mitchell	4 – Tied	5 – Pulliam	Viejas Arena  San Diego, CA
December 22, 2020* 6:00 pm, CBSSN		vs. Saint Mary's	W 74–49	6–1	18 – Mensah	13 – Mensah	4 – Gomez	Robert A. Mott Athletics Center  San Luis Obispo, CA
January 2, 2021 1:00 pm, CBS		Colorado State	L 67–70	6–2 (0–1)	19 – Gomez	7 – Mitchell	6 – Pulliam	Viejas Arena  San Diego, CA
January 4, 2021 6:00 pm, FS1		Colorado State	W 78–65	7–2 (1–1)	28 – Schakel	9 – Schakel	5 – Pulliam	Viejas Arena  San Diego, CA
January 7, 2021 7:00 pm, CBSSN		Nevada	W 65–60	8–2 (2–1)	20 – Mitchell	10 – Mitchell	3 – Tied	Viejas Arena  San Diego, CA
January 9, 2021 5:00 pm, CBSSN		Nevada	W 69–67	9–2 (3–1)	20 – Mitchell	8 – Mitchell	3 – Tied	Viejas Arena  San Diego, CA
January 14, 2021 6:00 pm, CBSSN		at Utah State	L 45–57	9–3 (3–2)	13 – Mensah	9 – Mensah	2 – Tied	Smith Spectrum (1,585) Logan, UT
January 16, 2021 10:30 am, CBS		at Utah State	L 59–64	9–4 (3–3)	16 – Gomez	5 – Tied	2 – Pulliam	Smith Spectrum (1,638) Logan, UT
January 22, 2021 6:00 pm, FS1		at Air Force	W 98–61	10–4 (4–3)	18 – Schakel	7 – Mensah	6 – Pulliam	Clune Arena  Colorado Springs, CO
January 24, 2021 7:00 pm, FS1		at Air Force	W 91–59	11–4 (5–3)	24 – Schakel	7 – Tied	6 – Gomez	Clune Arena  Colorado Springs, CO
January 28, 2021 6:00 pm, FS1		Wyoming	W 87–57	12–4 (6–3)	16 – Schakel	7 – Tomaic	4 – Schakel	Viejas Arena  San Diego, CA
January 30, 2021 7:00 pm, CBSSN		Wyoming	W 98–71	13–4 (7–3)	26 – Mitchell	5 – Tied	4 – Tied	Viejas Arena  San Diego, CA
February 3, 2021 8:00 pm, FS1		vs. New Mexico	Canceled, ruled a forfeit by New Mexico					Rip Griffin Center  Lubbock, TX
February 5, 2021 6:00 pm, CBSSN		vs. New Mexico	Canceled, ruled a forfeit by New Mexico					Rip Griffin Center  Lubbock, TX
February 8, 2021 8:00 pm, FS1		San Jose State	W 85–54	14–4 (8–3)	23 – Schakel	13 – Johnson	5 – Pulliam	Viejas Arena  San Diego, CA
February 10, 2021 8:00 pm, CBSSN		San Jose State	W 77–55	15–4 (9–3)	24 – Schakel	7 – Mitchell	5 – Pulliam	Viejas Arena  San Diego, CA
February 18, 2021 7:00 pm, CBSSN	No. 25	at Fresno State	W 67–53	16–4 (10–3)	19 – Mitchell	8 – Mensah	3 – Tied	Save Mart Center  Fresno, CA
February 20, 2021 4:30 pm, CBSSN	No. 25	at Fresno State	W 75–57	17–4 (11–3)	14 – Schakel	8 – Schakel	2 – Tied	Save Mart Center  Fresno, CA
February 25, 2021 6:00 pm, FS1	No. 22	Boise State	W 78–66 OT	18–4 (12–3)	24 – Mitchell	9 – Mitchell	3 – Gomez	Viejas Arena  San Diego, CA
February 27, 2021 1:00 pm, CBSSN	No. 22	Boise State	W 62–58	19–4 (13–3)	17 – Schakel	8 – Mitchell	4 – Pulliam	Viejas Arena  San Diego, CA
March 3, 2021 6:00 pm, CBSSN	No. 19	UNLV	W 71–62	20–4 (14–3)	19 – Mitchell	9 – Schakel	8 – Pulliam	Thomas & Mack Center (50) Paradise, NV
Mountain West tournament
March 11, 2021 12:00 pm, CBSSN	(1) No. 19	vs. (8) Wyoming Quarterfinals	W 69–66	21–4	20 – Gomez	6 – Schakel	4 – Pulliam	Thomas & Mack Center  Paradise, NV
March 12, 2021 6:30 pm, CBSSN	(1) No. 19	vs. (5) Nevada Semifinals	W 77–70	22–4	24 – Mitchell	9 – Schakel	4 – Pulliam	Thomas & Mack Center  Paradise, NV
March 13, 2021 3:00 pm, CBS	(1) No. 19	vs. (2) Utah State Championship	W 68–57	23–4	14 – Mitchell	8 – Mensah	3 – Pulliam	Thomas & Mack Center  Paradise, NV
NCAA tournament
March 19, 2021 6:40 pm, CBS	(6 MW) No. 16	vs. (11 MW) Syracuse First Round	L 62–78	23–5	17 – Tied	8 – Mitchell	6 – Pulliam	Hinkle Fieldhouse  Indianapolis, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. All times are in Pacific Time.

Source^[1]

Rankings

See also: 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Final
AP	RV	RV	24	18	RV	RV	RV	RV	—	—	—	RV	25	22	22	19	16	16	Not Released
Coaches	RV	RV*	RV	20	RV	23	RV	RV	—	—	—	RV	RV	25	21	19т	18	18	RV

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings. No coaches poll for Week 1.