AZTECS’ SCHEDULE TWEAKED ONCE MORE

Longer gap between contests means SDSU may look to add game

For the third time this season — or is it the fourth? — San Diego State on Tuesday got a new set of dates for its Mountain West basketball schedule.

The good news: All 18 remaining games will be broadcast on “real” TV by CBS, CBS Sports Network or Fox Sports 1.

The bad news: The opening series at UNLV originally scheduled for Dec. 31 and Jan. 2 was moved to Jan. 2 and 4, meaning the No. 18 Aztecs (5-0) will have a gap of 11 days after their final nonconference game Dec. 22 against Saint Mary’s.

Coach Brian Dutcher typically does not like to go that long between playing. When Colorado State’s program was paused for COVID-19 reasons and scratched the two games against SDSU in early December, Dutcher quickly found a pair of replacements instead of waiting 13 days before facing Arizona State.

And he confirmed he is making calls in search of a possible nonconference game in late December, ranging from power conferences to more local Division I opponents.

What complicates things this time is if BYU on Friday and Saint Mary’s next week go off as scheduled, the Aztecs will be up to seven nonconference games, presumably their limit. The NCAA is allowing a maximum of 27 regular-season games in 2020-21; the Mountain West is trying to play 20 inside the conference, leaving seven outside it.

There is a week at the end of the regular season for makeup games, when the Colorado State series could be moved. Except if the Aztecs play an eighth nonconference game, they would have room for only 19 in the Mountain West.

That, of course, assumes they play all 18 Mountain West games scheduled before then.

“This is only the first (conference) series canceled,” Dutcher said of Colorado State. “If we get more series canceled, how are we going to get all these games in? I need to get games in when I can, and we’ll worry about the other stuff later. I think I’d be naive to think we wouldn’t lose another series or two.

“I just think if you’re healthy and you have a chance to play

games, you’ve got to play them.”

The UNLV dates were moved for television purposes, but it also helps the Rebels. Their program was paused this week after announcing head coach T.J. Otzelberger had tested positive for the virus. It is unclear how long team activities will be shut down, but the conference series against Wyoming on Dec. 20 and 22 already has been postponed.

If UNLV shuts down for the standard 14 days, it wouldn’t return until two or three days before the original series opener against SDSU. This gives the Rebels an extra couple days of practice.

But it does the Aztecs no favors, especially with plans to bus to Las Vegas as they did for last week’s road trip to Arizona State. They’ll return home immediately after the Jan. 4 game, then practice two days in preparation for a home series against Nevada on Jan. 7 and 9 — a stretch of four games in eight days.

The only other date change is the series at New Mexico that may have to be played at the Lobos’ base in Lubbock, Texas. It was

moved from Feb. 4 and 6 to Feb. 3 and 5.

That helps the Aztecs, since they get an extra day before hosting San Jose State on Feb. 8 and 10. Before, they’d f ly home Feb. 7 and play the Spartans the next day.

The Jan. 2 game at UNLV remains on CBS. Tuesday’s schedule release (which did not have game times) included the Jan. 16 game at Utah State on CBS, part of the Mountain West’s new TV contract that calls for more games on the big network.

Mountain West schedule

Jan. 2: at UNLV (CBS); Jan. 4: at UNLV (FS1); Jan. 7: Nevada (CBSSN); Jan. 9: Nevada (CBSSN); Jan. 14: at Utah State (CBSSN); Jan. 16: at Utah State (CBS); Jan. 22: at Air Force (FS1); Jan. 24: at Air Force (FS1); Jan. 28: Wyoming (FS1); Jan. 30: Wyoming (CBSSN); Feb. 3: at New Mexico (FS1); Feb. 5: at New Mexico (CBSSN); Feb. 8: San Jose State (FS1); Feb. 10: San Jose State (CBSSN); Feb. 18: at Fresno State (CBSSN); Feb. 20: at Fresno State (CBSSN); Feb. 25: Boise State (FS1); Feb. 27: Boise State (CBSSN); March 10-13: MW Tournament, Las Vegas.