As San Diego State was sweeping its doorstep, kicking its students out and turning out the lights on the fall semester, the men’s basketball team was losing its fifth game, a 52-45 loss to Grand Canyon University. It was the team’s second shocking loss in 10 days.
Then the Aztecs lost their final nonconference game to Kansas University, 70-57, which dropped the Aztecs’ record to 7-6.
SDSU’s worst nonconference performance since the 2004-05 season left the team pigeonholed in a position of needing an undefeated — and improbable given past performances — run through Mountain West play.