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SUNRISE, Fla. - Utah State men's basketball (11-2) plays its third consecutive game at a neutral site, facing Florida (7-3) on Saturday, Dec. 21, at 2:30 p.m. (MT), inside the BB&T Center, home of the NHL's Florida Panthers, as part of the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic. Fans can watch the game on FS1 (DirecTV ch. 219, Dish ch. 150, Comcast ch. 265). 

Opening Tips
• Utah State will be playing in Florida for just the second time in school history. The Aggies last played in The Sunshine State during the 1997-98 season, losing 66-55 at Florida State.

• Utah State is 8-3 in neutral-site games under head coach Craig Smith, including a 3-1 record this season.

• As of Dec. 19, Utah State is among the Top-10 in the nation in seven different statistics. The Aggies lead the nation in total rebounds (558), rank second in free throws made (230), third in rebound margin (+11.4), fourth in free throw attempts (299), sixth in defensive rebounds per game (30.77) and 10th in total assists (206) and total rebounds per game (42.92).

• Utah State is also among the Top-25 in the nation in scoring margin (+17.5, 12th) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.35, 23rd).

• Utah State is the only team in the Mountain West with five players scoring in double figures. Furthermore, the Aggies are also the only team in the Mountain West with two players coming off the bench that average double figures.

• Utah State's bench has been outscored by opposing reserves in each of the last two games. The Aggies' bench had outscored opponent reserves each of the first 11 games during the year.

• USU senior guard Sam Merrill scored a team-best 21 points in the Aggies' 76-74 overtime victory over South Florida, increasing his career total to 1,777 career points and moving to No. 7 all-time in Utah State history.

• Merrill also moved to No. 3 on the all-time career assist list with 398 helpers in his career, passing Tony Brown (1999-2002), who finished his career with 396.

• Merrill is one steal away from tying Tai Wesley for No. 9 on the all-time steals list.

• Merrill is anticipated to make his 100th career start, moving to No. 7 in all-time career games started.

•Senior guard Diogo Brito is anticipated to appear in his 100th career game on Saturday

• Sophomore forward Justin Bean, a former walk-on, leads the Mountain West in rebounding with 11.6 boards per contest and is one of three players in the conference averaging a double-double (Carlton Bragg, UNM; Nate Grimes, FS), turning in 14.0 points per game. 

• Bean is third in the nation with eight double-doubles on the year.

• Bean leads the nation with 151 total rebounds this year, ranks fifth in the nation in offensive rebounds per game (4.31), fifth in the nation in total rebounds per game (11.6) and 25th in the nation in defensive rebounds per game (7.31).

• Bean's 11.6 rebounds per game is the most by an Aggie since Marvin Roberts pulled down 11.8 rebounds per contest during the 1970-71 season.

• Bean is the first Aggie to average a double-double in a season since Mike Santos averaged 18.2 points and 11.3 rebounds per game during the 1976-77 season.

The Utah State/Florida Series
• Utah State and Florida will be meeting for just the second time in school, having squared off in the Maui Invitational during the 1999-200 season. The Gators won the lone meeting, 60-58.

• Utah State is 2-4 all-time against teams from The Sunshine State, facing four of the five teams on neutral courts. The Aggies lost on neutral courts to Central Florida, Florida, and Jacksonville, and also lost on the road at Florida State. USU is a perfect 2-0 in school history against South Florida, with both games coming on neutral courts.

• Central Florida is the last team the Aggies have faced from the state of Florida, losing 55-52 to the Golden Knights during the 2004-05 season.

Scouting Florida
Florida is 7-3 on the year and receiving votes in The Associated Press men's basketball poll. The Gators have won five of their last six games, including an 83-51 victory over Providence in their last time out.

Florida is averaging 68.6 points per game and shooting 44.3 percent (244-of-551) from the floor, 30.5 percent (61-of-200) from behind the 3-point line and 70.3 percent (137-of-195) at the free throw line. Sophomore forward Keyontae Johnson leads the Gators in scoring, averaging 13.2 points per game. He is followed by senior forward Kerry Blackshear with 12.7 points per game and sophomore guard Andrew Nembhard with 10.0 points per game. Blackshear paces Florida on the glass with 7.9 rebounds per game, while Nembhard leads the Gators with 5.4 assists per game.

Defensively, freshman guard Scottie Lewis leads Florida with 1.5 steals and 1.4 blocks per game. Opponents are averaging 62.3 points per game against the Gators and are shooting 38.8 percent (218-of-562) from the floor, 27.2 percent (58-of-213) from behind the 3-point line and 68.6 percent (129-of-188) at the free throw line.