“Massive Reports” SDSU Men’s Basketball Announces Significant Changes Effecting Every Player
The new format follows updated guidance from the NCAA and will feature two games in group play and a championship Saturday to finish the event.
SAN DIEGO – The first Players Era Festival, scheduled for Thanksgiving week at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, will see a format change after the NCAA’s Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee approved a blanket waiver for certain NCAA MTE regulations for the 2024-25 season.
Revised as a single Multi-Team Event (MTE), the Players Era Festival will keep the Impact and Power Groups and introduce a Championship Day on Saturday, November 30. While the tournament will feature group play on Tuesday and Wednesday, Saturday’s matchups will be determined based on the results of the group games.
After the Wednesday games, teams in each group will be ranked from first to fourth, with seeding based on head-to-head records and total point differentials in group play, capped at a 20-point maximum per game. The top seeds from each group will compete in the championship match, while the remaining teams will fill out the third, fifth, and seventh-place games.
San Diego State will kick off the Players Era Festival against Creighton at 11 a.m. (PT) on Tuesday, November 26, with the game airing on TBS. The following day, they will play Oregon at 1 p.m. (PT) on Wednesday, November 27, available on MAX. The opponent for Saturday, November 30, will be determined by earlier game outcomes.
For the 2024-25 season, San Diego State will bring back one starter, Reese Waters, from last year’s team, which finished 26-11, competed for the Mountain West Tournament title for the 10th time in 11 years, and made it to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive year and the fourth time in 14 years. The Aztecs return three letterwinners—Byrd, Waters, and Miles Heide—and welcome seven newcomers, including Nick Boyd, who transferred from FAU after playing in the Final Four against SDSU in 2023, Jared Coleman-Jones, a versatile 6-10 forward who led Middle Tennessee State in assists, and Wayne McKinney III, a talented 6-0 guard from San Diego with an impressive jumping ability.
Other new faces include redshirt freshman Magoon Gwath, a 7-0 forward capable of scoring at various levels, true freshman Taj DeGourville, a 6-5 guard with an extensive wingspan, and 6-8, 245-pound forward Pharaoh Compton, who also has a notable wingspan and is expected to contribute immediately.
The Aztecs will play an exhibition game against Cal State San Marcos on Wednesday, October 30, at Viejas Arena, followed by their regular-season opener against UC San Diego on Wednesday, November 6.