The San Diego State Aztecs faced many tough opponents and were a part of many close games this season on their road to a 30-win season. This being said, here are the top five games of the San Diego State Aztecs’ 2019-20 season.

1. Aztecs vs. San Jose State (Dec. 8, 2019)

This was an off-game for the Aztecs and there is no other way to say it. They were expected to roll right over San Jose State and move on to their next game. Well, if it weren’t for last-second heroics from Malachi Flynn, the Spartans would’ve handed the Aztecs their first loss of the season. The Aztecs were 30-point favorites entering the home game vs. the Spartans, but the difference ended up being just one shot made with 0.5 seconds left in the game.

The Aztecs led by five at the half, but the Spartans came back in the late stages with a comeback effort led by Seneca Knight and Brae Ivey. Knight scored 15 points with four rebounds and Ivey scored 13 points with three rebounds and four assists.

No player seemed to be truly at their best in this game for the Aztecs, but when it came down to it, Malachi Flynn hit a clutch last-second three-pointer to keep the undefeated season alive. Flynn had only scored six points in the game before making this shot and the only players that seemed to be playing decent basketball were Nathan Mensah and Matt Mitchell. Mitchell scored 13 points with nine rebounds and Mensah scored 12 points with 12 rebounds. Eventually, this game just ended up being a trap game for the Aztecs, but they prevailed due to a clutch shot by guard Malachi Flynn and left the arena unscathed.

2. Aztecs vs. Iowa (Nov. 29, 2019)

In the Las Vegas Invitational Championship game, there was a showdown between two teams that ended the season ranked in the AP Poll’s Top 25. The Iowa Hawkeyes led the San Diego State Aztecs by 16 points at one point in the first half but gave up a late second-half lead to the Aztecs that decided their 83-73 loss to the Aztecs.

The Aztecs came out of half time visibly unfazed by the strong first half from the Hawkeyes and led a huge comeback effort to beat Iowa and win the Las Vegas Invitational. Joe Touissant, Connor Mccaffrey, and CJ Fredrick all had good games for the Hawkeyes and helped them build a strong first-half lead. Mccaffrey scored 15 points, five rebounds, and three assists, Touissant scored 13 points with four assists, and Fredrick scored 16 points with five assists and three rebounds. Ultimately it wasn’t enough to overcome the undefeated Aztecs.

The Aztecs were led by Malachi Flynn, Jordan Schakel, Yanni Wetzell and KJ Feagin. Flynn scored 28 points with three steals, four assists and five rebounds. Schakel scored 14 points with six rebounds, Wetzell scored 14 points with three rebounds, and Feagin scored 10 points with five assists and four rebounds. This was ultimately one of the best wins for the Aztecs as the Hawkeyes finished one of the top teams in the Big Ten.

3. Aztecs at Nevada (Feb. 29, 2020)

The Aztecs faced Nevada twice during the regular season but the second matchup was much more entertaining. The two teams faced off in the final game of the regular-season on the last day of February. The Aztecs entered the game pretty heavy favorites, but the instant the game started, it was obvious, whoever comes out on top would have to fight hard for the victory.

The entire first half was basically the Malachi Flynn vs. Jalen Harris show as each finished the first half with nearly 20 points. The Wolfpack led 45-36 at the half and at one point in the second half, took a 14-point lead, the second biggest deficit the Aztecs had been faced with the entire season.

However, the last 10 minutes were a much different story than the first 30, as the Aztecs finished the game absolutely dominating from beyond the arc and eventually coming out on top in the regular-season finale, 83-76. This second-half effort was led mostly by Malachi Flynn alone. This was undoubtedly Flynn’s best performance of the season as he finished with a career-high 36 points. On top of the career-high in points, he also managed to earn five rebounds and five assists. This was a huge road win for the Aztecs and helped regain the team’s conference entering March.

4. Aztecs at BYU (Nov. 9, 2019)

In a very early season matchup, just the second game of the year for each team, the San Diego State Aztecs headed to Provo, Utah to face the former Mountain West rival BYU Cougars. The Cougars were favored entering the game but the Aztecs jumped out to a 36-29 lead at halftime.

The Cougars came back from a double-digit deficit and took the lead in the late stages of the game. They were led by Jake Toolson and veteran TJ Haws. Toolson scored 18 points with four assists and four rebounds, while Haws scored 13 points with six assists and four rebounds.

In the end, the Aztecs made some clutch free throws and came up with a huge road upset over BYU, 77-72. They were led by Jordan Schakel, Malachi Flynn, KJ Feagin, Matt Mitchell, Nathan Mensah and Yanni Wetzell. Schakel scored 19 points with five rebounds, Flynn had 17 points with five assists, Feagin scored 12 points with five rebounds, Mitchell scored nine points with six rebounds, Wetzell scored two points with two assists and six rebounds, and Mensah scored seven points with 11 rebounds. Arguably, this ended up being the Aztecs’ best win of the season, as the Cougars finished in the top 20 in the AP Poll.

5. Aztecs vs. Utah State (Feb. 1, 2020)

Just barely cracking the list at the fifth spot is the home game on the first of February when the Aztecs hosted the Utah State Aggies and it was definitely one to remember. In the first half, it seemed as though all defense for the Aztecs had disappeared and Utah State knew what to expect from the Aztecs each play. With Aztecs legend Kawhi Leonard in attendance, the Aztecs entered halftime with their biggest halftime deficit of the season, trailing 39-31.

At halftime of the game, Kawhi Leonard became the first player in school history to get their jersey retired in the rafters of Viejas Arena. Kawhi and former coach, Steve Fisher each gave speeches at halftime and the ceremony certainly excited the crowd more than they were at any point in the first half.

Once the second half started, Matt Mitchell put on an absolute clinic. Mitchell made multiple clutch buckets in the closing minutes and finished with 28 points and four rebounds. KJ Feagin, Yanni Wetzell and Malachi Flynn also had good nights. Wetzell scored 11 points with 10 rebounds, Feagin scored 15 points with four rebounds, and Flynn scored 15 with six rebounds and seven assists.