San Diego State got its men’s basketball conference Schedule from the Mountain West and immediately looked for two things:

Does it make the dreaded trip to Wyoming at 7,220 feet of elevation?

Is its Jan. 2 opener a road game after concluding the nonconference season at Gonzaga on Dec. 29?

No, and no.

Exhale, and exhale.

Fears of the conference office holding a grudge against SDSU for nearly leaving over the summer and taking it out on its basketball schedule appear to be unfounded. The Aztecs open with a pair of home games, close with a home game and have well-spaced bye weeks at the end of January and end of February.

Of course, the schedule isn’t final until CBS and Fox, the Mountain West’s television partners, pick their games over the next few weeks and assign dates, with the power to move them a day in either direction. That can create shorter prep time and cause travel headaches, especially with back-to-back games in altitude in early February (at Air Force, followed by at Nevada).

Otherwise, there seems to be a good balance to the games, alternating between teams expected to finish in the upper and lower half of the conference.

It remains an 18-game schedule in an 11-team conference (Hawaii plays football only), meaning you skip one opponent at home and one on the road each year. This season, it’s Wyoming away and Air Force at home.

Both are considered positive developments.

Skipping the trip to Laramie means the Aztecs don’t have to burn two of their four allotted charter legs, since reaching Wyoming via commercial carriers involves flying to Denver and busing 2½ hours over a snowy, windy mountain pass to “Laradise.”

And Air Force and its disciplined Princeton-style offense (and funky matchup zone defense) is the hardest scout. It also eliminates two teams expected to be near the bottom of the conference, which ultimately hurts your computer metrics even in victory.

The bulk of the nonconference schedule is completed, with the Aztecs waiting to finalize a couple games before announcing it. The season opener will take place Nov. 6 against Cal State Fullerton at Viejas Arena, followed four days later at BYU.

Other notables from the Mountain West schedule:

• After opening on the road at UNLV the previous two seasons, the Aztecs get Fresno State (Jan. 2) and UNLV (Jan. 6) at home.
• The regular-season finale is home against Boise State, matching teams that finished first and tied for second in 2022-23.
• There are three back-to-back road games, although only one involving two altitude teams: at San Jose State (Jan. 6) and New Mexico (Jan. 9); at Air Force (Feb. 6) and Nevada (Feb. 10); at Utah State (Feb. 20) and Fresno State (Feb. 24).
• Maybe the two toughest road games come early: at New Mexico (Jan. 13) and at Boise State (Jan. 20).
• This is the fourth time in the last eight seasons that the Aztecs have not played in Laramie.