USU Game Notes | Watch Live | Listen Live | Live Stats
Utah State plays the second of four games in the MGM Main Event when the Aggies host Utah Valley on Friday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m.
Opening Tips
• Utah State leads the all-time series 12-0 against Utah Valley, including a perfect 6-0 mark inside the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
• Utah State and Utah Valley have met every year since the 2006-07 season, with the exception of the 2017-18 season.
• Utah State is 3-0 to start a season for the fifth time in the last six years.
• USU head coach Craig Smith is the ninth coach in Aggie history to win his first three games joining Tim Duryea (4), Stew Morrill (5), Dutch Belnap (3), Ladell Andersen (8), H. Cecil Baker (4), H.B. Lee (3), D.D. Young (5) and E. Lowell Romney (5).
• Utah State has won each of its first three games by at least 25 points. The last time USU won three-straight games by 25-plus points was during the 2004-05 season.
• Every active Utah State player has scored in every game this season.
• Utah State has out rebounded each of its first three opponents by double digits, including more than 20 in each of the first two games of the season.
• Utah State has a different player score 20-plus points in each of its first three games this year as junior forward Sam Merrill had a career-high 37 points at Montana State, senior forward Dwayne Brown Jr. tied his career-high with 24 points against Hartford and redshirt freshman guard Brock Miller scored a career-high 26 points against Mississippi Valley State.
• In its season-opening 101-71 victory at Montana State, Utah State eclipsed 100 points for the first time since scoring 105 points against Oakland on March 25, 2012. It was the most points scored in a season opener under a first-year head coach in USU history.
Scouting Utah Valley
Utah Valley, picked to finish third in the WAC preseason poll, has opened the year 1-2 with a pair of losses following 96-71 season-opening victory over Westminster.
The Wolverines are averaging 74.7 points per game and shooting 42.8 percent (83-of-194) from the floor, 38.8 percent (26-of-67) from behind the 3-point line and 61.5 percent (32-of-52) at the free throw line. Individually, junior guard Jake Toolson leads Utah Valley with 17.0 points per game. Junior center Baylee Steele leads the Wolverines on the glass, averaging 10.3 rebounds per game.
Defensively, opponents are averaging 79.3 points per game against Utah Valley and shooting 50.3 percent (84-of-167) from the floor, 38.3 percent (23-of-60) from behind the 3-point line and 69.1 percent (47-of-68) at the free throw line. Senior guard Conner Toolson, second on the team with 9.7 points per game, leads the defense with four steals, while Steele leads the team with two blocks.
