Complete Release

Storylines

• Utah State men's basketball will take its first road trip of the season, playing at Illinois State on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena (10,200) on Sunday, Nov. 16 at 3 p.m. (MT).

• The game will mark the seventh time the two teams have met with the all-time series tied at 3-3.

• Utah State is 15-13 all-time against opponents from the Missouri Valley Conference. The record includes a 1-2 mark against Bradley, 2-1 mark against Drake, 2-0 mark against Evansville, 1-0 mark against Indiana State, 0-2 mark against Southern Illinois and a 6-5 mark against Wichita State.

• Utah State has an overall record of 1,519-1,046 (.592) in its 2,565 games played.

• Utah State is 1-0 to start a season for the eighth-straight season and the 20th time in the last 21 years including 16 wins in head coach Stew Morrill's 17 years at USU. Overall, Utah State has started a season 2-0 six times under Morrill and 48 times in school history.

• Utah State will enter its second season in the Mountain West, compiling a 7-11 conference mark last season in the Aggies debut. The seven wins were the most among the five newest teams to the conference, surpassing Boise State's three wins in 2011-12, Fresno State's five wins and Nevada's three wins in 2012-13 and San José State's one win in 2013-14.

• Utah State finished in the top 20 in several national statistics last season, including 3-point field goal percentage (.406, 2nd), assists per game (15.9, 12th) and rebounding margin (5.8, 18th).

• Utah State is one of the least experienced teams in the nation with only four returning players from 2013-14 on the roster. The rest of the squad is made up of two returning redshirts from the 2011-12 season and a mixture of 11 junior transfers and freshmen.

This Week

Utah State men's basketball (1-0, 0-0 MW) will take its first road trip of the 2014-15 season and face Illinois State (0-0, 0-0 MVC) on Sunday, Nov. 16 at 3 p.m. (MT) on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena (10,200). There is no television for Sunday's game, but it will be broadcast live via a pay-to-view stream online at redbirdHD.tv. Fans can also listen to the game via the Aggie Sports Network.

Coming Up

Utah State will be back at home next Wednesday, hosting Santa Clara in the first nationally-televised game of the year. The Aggies and Broncos will play live on ROOT Sports with the tip-off in the Dee Smith Spectrum Arena (10,270) set for 6 p.m.

On the Airwaves

Utah State basketball games are broadcast on the Aggie Sports Network on KVNU (610 AM/102.1 FM) and KLZX (95.9 FM) in Logan, on KZNS (1280 AM) in Salt Lake City, KVEL (920 AM) in Vernal, KRPX (95.3 FM) in Price and KLZX (105.3 FM) in Montpelier, Idaho as well as on the Internet at www.utahstateaggies.com. Al Lewis serves as the play-by-play announcer while former USU head coach and athletics director Rod Tueller serves as the analyst during home games and select road games.

Listen Live on the Internet

Fans can also listen to all Utah State men's basketball games on the Internet by clicking on the "Listen Live" link at www.utahstateaggies.com, the official website of USU athletics.

On TV

There is no television for Sunday's game, but it will be broadcast live via a pay-to-view stream online at redbirdHD.tv.

Live Video on the Internet

Select Utah State home games and road games, where available, are streamed on the Internet by clicking on the "Watch Live" link at www.utahstateaggies.com, the official web site of USU athletics.

Live Stats

Live stats for all USU home games are available via "GameTracker" links at www.utahstateaggies.com, the official web site of USU Athletics. Road games will be under "live stats" links at www.utahstateaggies.com, which will redirect fans to the home team's stat system.

Social Media

Utah State men's basketball news and information is available on twitter @Aggiehoops. Fans can also get USU men's basketball highlights on YouTube at youtube.com/UtahStateAthletics. Aggie fans can follow the Utah State athletic program at twitter @USUAthletics, on facebook at facebook.com/USUAthletics, or on Instagram @USUAthletics.

Looking at Utah State

Utah State will enter the 2014-15 season with an overhauled roster that includes only four players from a team that went 18-14 overall and 7-11 in the MW last season. The rest includes redshirt freshmen David Collete and Sam Orchard, recently returned from LDS missions, and 11 newcomers.

Utah State's 11 newcomers are made up of five junior college transfers, including senior forward Grayson Moore, junior wing Trace Cureton, junior guards Darius Perkins and Chris Smith, and sophomore forward Konner Frey. They are joined by junior forward Lew Evans, a transfer from Tulsa, and first-year players in sophomore center Bilal Begic, freshman guards John Bennett, Henry Bolton and Julion Pearre, and freshman center Elston Jones.

Both Grayson Moore and Evans will have to sit out the 2014-15 season as four-year transfers.

The Aggies will look to their four returners for leadership and experience led by sophomore wing Jalen Moore who averaged 5.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 0.3 blocks as a true freshman, as he shot 52.8 percent from the field (66-125), including 38.9 percent from three-point range (14-36) and 71.1 percent at the free throw line (32-45). J. Moore scored six or more points in 14 total games a year ago, including tallying double-figures in four contests. He also recorded at least five points and five rebounds in seven games on the season. Overall, J. Moore played in all 32 games a year ago and made five starts.

He will be joined by sophomore guard JoJo McGlaston who averaged 2.3 points, 0.5 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game a year ago, sophomore guard Viko Noma'aea who averaged 1.4 points, 0.3 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game, and senior forward Sean Harris who was granted a sixth-year of eligibility by the NCAA. Last season, Harris saw action in 10 games and averaged 0.6 points and 0.9 rebounds, while shooting 20.0 percent from the field (2-10) and 50.0 percent at the free throw line (2-4).

Scouting Illinois State

The game on Sunday afternoon will mark the season opener for Illinois State. The game will also mark only the second time the Redbirds have taken to the court this season, having played in only one exhibition, a 76-67 victory over Lewis University, a Division II school in Illinois, on Nov. 10.

ISU was picked fifth in the 2014-15 Missouri Valley Conference basketball preseason poll and returns four starters from a team that finished tied for fourth last season. The returners are headlined by a pair of double-digit scorers in senior guard Daishon Knight (13.2 ppg) and senior guard Bobby Hunter (10.5 ppg). The Redbirds will also benefit from the return of sophomore center Reggie Lynch who averaged 2.8 blocks per contest along with 8.3 points per game last season. The final returner is sophomore guard Paris Lee who averaged 6.7 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game last season.

Illinois State had four players in double figures in its 76-67 victory over Lewis, led by junior transfer DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell with 16 points coming off the bench. He was followed by Lee with 14 points and Knight with 13. Lynch finished his night with a double-double after tallying 10 points and 12 rebounds and also led the team with seven blocks.

Head coach Dan Muller is in his third season at the helm of the ISU program, compiling an overall mark of 36-31 over that span. Muller joined the Redbirds after 11 years as an assistant coach at Vanderbilt from 2001-12.

Preseason Poll

Utah State men's basketball team has been selected 10th in the 2014-15 Mountain West Preseason Media Poll.

Defending 2013-14 champion San Diego State was a near unanimous pick to win the conference after garnering 34 of 35 first-place votes and 383 points. Boise State followed with one first-place vote and 275 points, picked just ahead of New Mexico and UNLV with 270 and 269 points, respectively.

Colorado State, Wyoming and Fresno State made up the middle of the group after being picked fifth, sixth and seventh with 258, 256 and 232 points, respectively. Nevada (126) and Air Force (102) were picked ahead of the Aggies (98) in eighth and ninth and San José State rounded out the poll in 11th with 41 points.

Jalen Moore No. 17 on Sports Illustrated's Projected List of Breakout Players in 2014-15

Sophomore wing Jalen Moore has been pick No. 17 on Sports Illustrated's projected list of breakout players in 2014-15 as released in an article on Oct. 15. Said SI.com "Moore is the Aggies' only returning rotation player -- and thus it's hard to envision a scenario in which he doesn't become an important part of the offense".

In Pursuit of 400 USU Victories

Head coach Stew Morrill only needs 15 victories to hit the 400-win benchmark at Utah State, where he is entering his 17th season. Morrill recorded his 600th career victory in a 73-58 win over San José State last season, becoming just the 14th active coach to notch 600 wins in a career.

Counting Collette

Forward David Collette's 22 points in the season opener against Weber state are the most points scored by a freshman in the opening game of the season in school history, topping the 19 points Jaycee Carroll scored against Georgia Southern to start his career in 2004. It is also the most points scored by an Aggie newcomer since Brockeith Pane scored 23 points at home against Weber State in his USU debut to start the 2010-11 season.

Former Aggie All-American Tai Wesley holds the freshman single-game scoring record, recording 27 points against the University of Hawaii on Jan. 3, 2008.

Last Time Out

LOGAN, Utah - Utah State men's basketball was down 18 going into the half, but held Weber State to just 14 points in the second to come back and post a 72-61 victory on Friday night in both teams' 2014-15 season openers. The win moved the Aggies to 81-29 all-time in season openers and maintained a perfect 9-0 record under head coach Stew Morrill in home openers in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum Arena.

Redshirt freshman forward David Collette poured in 22 points on 11-of-15 shooting and added six rebounds, and game highs of two blocks and five steals in his Aggie debut. Sophomore wing Jalen Moore was just behind with a career-high 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting, adding a career-high eight rebounds.

Weber State came out of the gates and scored the first five points of the game, but a 3-point basket by Moore stopped the run and gave the Aggies their first points of the game. However, the two-point margin was as close as Utah State came in the first half as Weber State finished the half shooting 57.7 percent (15-of-26) from the field, including 50 percent (5-of-10) from behind the 3-point line. The Wildcats also made the most of 10 personal fouls called on the Aggies over the opening 20 minutes by converting 12-of-13 free throws.

Utah State was on the other side of the coin, shooting 37.9 percent (11-of-29) from the floor, 25 percent (2-of-8) from deep and only converting on five of its 12 attempts from the free throw line. The poor shooting was coupled by Collette in foul trouble as the freshman only played nine minutes in the first half after picking up two fouls.

Weber State went into the break up 18, 47-29, but Utah State opened the second half by scoring the first eight points, staring and ending on dunks by Collette, part of seven flushes which was the most since Cardell Butler had five dunks in the Big West Championship game in 2003. The teams then traded 3-point baskets as junior guard Chris Smith echoed Weber State's Jeremy Senglin to keep the margin at 10, 50-40. Utah State continued to chip away as another Collette dunk trimmed the WSU advantage to single digits, 51-42.

The difference was eight when Weber's Senglin hit a free throw with 12:10 on the clock to put the visitor's up 53-45, but it was the last time the Wildcats scored until the 6:33 mark. The Aggies used the five-and-a-half minute lull to string together a 17-0 run and turn the eight-point deficit (45-53) into a nine-point lead (62-53) with 7:08 remaining.

The lead grew to as much as 15, 72-57, with 1:54 to play, but back-to-back closing baskets by the Wildcats led to the final score, 72-61. Weber State only scored 14 points in the final half, marking the fewest points allowed in a half by the Aggies since the 2010 season when Utah State held Troy to 13 points in an opening half.

The 18-point halftime deficit was also the largest the Aggies have overcome, at least since the 1998-99 season, with the next closest coming in a 13-point comeback in the 2009 Western Athletic Conference tournament against New Mexico State when USU was down 47-34 at half only to come back and win, 71-70.

Freshman guard Julion Pearre joined Collette and Moore in double figures, turning in 10 points where he was a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line and added four rebounds. Junior guard Darius Perkins dished out a game-high nine assists and added seven points and three steals in his Aggie debut.

Weber State was led by a trio of double-digit scorers, including Senglin with 14, Richaud Gittens with 13 and Joel Bolomboy with 12. Bolomboy led both teams on the glass with nine rebounds.

USU finished the night shooting 46.6 percent (27-of-58) from the field after a 55.2 percent (16-of-29) showing in the second half. Weber State finished its night 38.8 percent (19-of-49) from the floor after a 17.4 percent (4-of-23) performance in the final 20 minutes.

Last time against Illinois State

Utah State and Illinois State last faced off on Feb. 23, 2013 in an ESPN BracketBuster in Logan, Utah at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. The Aggies picked up the 80-71 victory behind double-digit scoring by four players, including Jarred Shaw with 18, Spencer Butterfield with 16, TeNale Roland with 13 and Marvin Jean with 10. Illinois State was paced by Tyler Brown with 35 points and he was followed by Jackie Carmichael with 20.

As a team, Utah State shot 51.8 percent (29-of-56) from the field to Illinois State's 36.9 percent (24-of-65). The Redbirds connected on 11-of-23 (34.4 percent) from long range with the Aggies shooting 30.0 percent (6-of-20) from 3-point land.

Preseason Wrap

Utah State went a perfect 2-0 in its exhibition games this season, capturing a 77-70 win over Texas A&M-International and 64-57 win over Arkansas-Fort Smith. The results continued a 15-game winning streak for the Aggies in exhibition games, dating back to the 2007-08 season.

Redshirt freshman forward David Collette paced USU during the games with 20.5 points per game and averaged 4.0 rebounds per contest. Collette shot 62.5 percent (15-of-24) from the field as the Aggies shot 39.0 percent (46-of-118) over the two games. Junior guard Chris Smith followed Collette in the scoring column with 10.5 points per game and matched the 4.0 rebounds per contest.

Sophomore wing Jalen Moore led the team in rebounds, among players that appeared in both games, averaging 5.5 per game and chipped in 9.5 points and 2.0 steals per outing.

Utah State held the opposition to 38.1 percent (45-of-118) from the field and 19.4 percent (7-of-36) from 3-point range. Opponents were able to out rebound the Aggies 41.5 to 39.5 and shot 73.2 percent (30-of-41) from the free throw line to USU's 67.8 percent (40-of-59).