It was probably to be expected that San Diego State’s rebuilt roster would get worked over by Top 25 teams Arizona and Southern California in its first two exhibition games. 

There’s plenty of work to do to fix some glaring deficiencies and continue to develop team chemistry as the Aztecs work to move on from the most disappointing season in program history.

The way the Aztecs look at it, it’s better to take some lumps against good teams when the games don’t count, figure things out and then get going for real in their first season in the Pac-12.

“We're going to be good. When we're good, I don't know, but in the 26 years I've been here, Aztec basketball has always gotten better as the season went on,” coach Brian Dutcher said after the Aztecs fell behind by 20 at halftime and lost 85-68 to Southern California, which is No. 21 in the Associated Press preseason Top 25.

“We know what the starting baseline is, and now we have a direction to grow from. Like I said, if I didn't have talent, I'd be really concerned, but I have enough talent to compete with the teams that we just played. If we play better, we can compete with those teams.

“With that being said, our opener is against Cal State Fullerton, and in their exhibition game, they made 17 threes. So, I'm already looking to Fullerton in the opener, knowing that nothing's easy, that if I run into a night where they make 17 threes on me, it'll be a nightmare that night.”

The Aztecs welcome Long Beach State on Wednesday night at Viejas Arena for their final exhibition game. The opener against Fullerton State is Nov. 3, also at Viejas. 

“Every game is different. Every rhythm to the game is different, and so to play all these different games right now with different ways people attack us are all learning opportunities,” Dutcher said. “I'm not someone who overreacts to everything, so I'm not in there yelling and screaming. They know how to play. They know what has to be done, and I tell them what it is, and then they have to adjust and do it.”

Brian Dutcher identifies San Diego State's biggest problem

The Aztecs committed 10 turnovers in each half against USC after committing 16 against Arizona. 

The Aztecs averaged 12 turnovers last year. 

Dutcher said some of it was USC’s length but some of it was SDSU being careless with the ball. 

“We had 16 turnovers at Arizona followed by 20 turnovers, and we’ve got to have 12 or under, and you would think that would be an easy number for us to achieve, because we have a lot of playmaking guards out there,” Dutcher said. 

“Between Latrell (Davis) and Elzie (Harrington) and Chance (Gladden), and David (Torresani), those are all playmaking guards. But they're turning over, they're loose with the ball, and, I think that's a correctable thing with those guys, because they have the talent to take care of the ball, but a little reckless, a little careless right now.”

Davis, who redshirted last year, and senior center Jeremiah “Bear” Cherry, who transferred from Sacramento State, each had five turnovers. 

2nd | 11:54
USC 62, SDSU 48@ElzieHarringto1 14 PTS, 3 AST, 1 REB@BearCherry35 10 PTS, 3 AST, 2 REB#GoAztecs pic.twitter.com/ljRSlPva4q

— San Diego State Men's Basketball (@Aztec_MBB) October 24, 2026

The Aztecs outrebounded the Trojans 36-34, but even that needs some perspective.

“Well, they made too high a percentage of shots. There weren't enough misses,” Dutcher said. “So, good and bad. When we were on a run in the second half, where we cut it down to 12, or whatever it was, and then we had some stops, we couldn't get a rebound. I mean, we played the defense in order to maybe make it from nine to seven to five. But they got offensive rebounds and timely possession. There’s so much growth we have to do.”

Why Dutcher remains confident in the Aztecs

Having talent is one thing. Getting the best out of it is another. 

“Now I have to get them to play better, to be more responsible with the way they play and the energy they play with and will grow,” Dutcher said. “The talent is there, in my opinion. I've got good enough players to have a good year. Now I have to get the buy-in and raise our level of toughness.”

The Aztecs did outscore the Trojans 37-34 in the second half and pulled within single digits a few times.

“I think everyone that watched thought we played harder, more competitively, I thought our level of competition rose, so that has to be the trend moving forward,” Dutcher said. 

Elzie Harrington sees value in facing ranked opponents

“We don't want to just come out here and play a team that we think we should blow out and get some false confidence,” the sophomore guard from Long Beach said. “I think it's important, especially with a group of new guys, to see where we're at, see what we need to get better at.

“I think today it's obvious we need to get better at taking care of the ball and playing a full 40-minute game. So, I think those are lessons we learned playing against good teams.”

San Diego State has one final exhibition before its opener

The Long Beach State exhibition tips off at 7 p.m. Wednesday.