San José State's season starts with a lunchtime game. The Spartans host UTSA at noon Monday, Nov. 2, at the Provident Credit Union Event Center. The game streams on MW+, which UTSA notes costs $10.99 a month. SJSU is calling it “Lunch with the Spartans,” and anyone with a Tower ID gets in free and gets pizza.
The Spartans
Tim Miles' team was picked seventh in the Mountain West preseason poll (our preseason story). SJSU is 3-2 in season openers under Miles but hasn't won one since the 2023-24 season. The program got a $4 million gift over the summer, the largest in its history. The money went to keeping players, bringing in new talent and day-to-day operations. This season also brings a new custom court, a sports DJ and halftime acts.
The Roadrunners
UTSA is opening on the road for the first time since the 2020-21 season, and acting head coach Nick Bowman will lead the team. Sophomore Dorian Hayes is the only returning player. He averaged 8.8 points and led the team with 55 three-pointers. The Roadrunners added 10 transfers and four high school players after finishing last season 4-25.
SJSU leads the all-time series 2-1. This is the first meeting since March 2013, when both schools were briefly in the WAC together.