San Diego State left out of NCAA Tournament for first time since 2019

Ryan Finley, The San Diego Union-Tribune on Mar 15, 2026

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SAN DIEGO — San Diego State tuned in to Sunday’s NCAA Tournament selection show hoping its 22 wins and big-name opponents would be enough to extend its March Madness streak.

It wasn’t. The Aztecs were left out of the 68-team bracket for the first time since 2019, marking a disappointing end to a season that never quite took off. CBS listed San Diego State as one of the “first four out.”

The Aztecs won’t play in any other postseason tournaments, either. The Aztecs could have been invited to either the NIT or The Crown, an eight-team event held in Las Vegas in early April.

“With where we are today physically, I don’t feel like playing in another postseason tournament will benefit us,” SDSU coach Brian Dutcher said Sunday afternoon

SDSU would have earned the Mountain West’s automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament by beating Utah State in Saturday’s conference title game between the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds.

Instead, the Aztecs (22-11) faded late and fell 73-62 at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Utah State is the only Mountain West team to make the NCAA Tournament.

In a twist, the Aggies will travel to Viejas Arena for the first round; a No. 9 seed, Utah State will take on eighth-seeded Villanova, with the winner advancing to face either top-seeded Arizona or 16th-seeded Long Island. The other teams traveling to San Diego: No. 5 seed St. John’s, No. 12 Northern Iowa, No. 4 Kansas and No. 13 Cal Baptist.

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