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LOGAN, Utah - Utah State men's basketball (8-1, 1-0 MW) hosts Fresno State (2-5, 0-1 MW) on Saturday, Dec. 7, at 4 p.m., in the Aggies' Mountain West home opener. Fans can watch the game on the AT&T Sports Network (DirecTV 683, Dish 414, Comcast 52) with Jenny Cavnar providing play-by-play and Joe Cravens serving as the analyst.
Opening Tips
• Utah State's 7-0 start was the best since the 1961-62 season, when the Aggies began the year 8-0. The 7-0 mark was the fourth-best start in school history, trailing the school record of 9-0 set during the 1938-39 and 1917-18 seasons.
• Utah State, currently ranked No. 25 in the AP poll, is 64-19 all-time as an AP-ranked team.
• Utah State has appeared in each of the last five AP polls, making it the longest stretch for the Aggies since appearing in the AP poll in 11 consecutive weeks during the 1970-71 season.
• Utah State committed a season-low seven turnovers in its 71-59 victory at San José State in its last time out. The Aggies are a perfect 5-0 this year and 17-0 under head coach Craig Smith when committing fewer turnovers than the opposition.
• The Aggies overcame a 19-point deficit with 16:32 to play in the second half against LSU to post an 80-78 victory over the Tigers in their opening game of the Jersey Mike's Jamaica Classic. The comeback was the biggest since USU overcame an 18-point halftime deficit against Weber State on Nov. 14, 2014, to post a 72-61 win over the Wildcats.
• Utah State is one of five teams in the MW with four players averaging double figures, but the only team in the league with two players coming off the bench averaging double figures (Alphonso Anderson - 13.1 ppg | Diogo Brito - 11.0 ppg).
• Senior guard Sam Merrill tied a school record with 17 made free throws in the Aggies' 81-73 season-opening victory over Montana State. Merrill matched the school record alongside Tim Tollestrup, who made 17 free throws against Utah in 1970, and Bart Johnson, who made 17 free throws against Idaho in 1954.
• With his three assists at San José State in the last contest, Merrill moved to No. 4 on the all-time assists list in Utah State history with 389 career assists.
• Sophomore forward Justin Bean, a former walk-on, leads the Mountain West in rebounding with 11.7 boards per contest and is the only player in the conference averaging a double-double, turning in 15.1 points per game. Bean is sixth in the nation in both total rebounds per game and offensive rebounds per game, averaging 11.7 and 4.22 per contest, respectively.
• 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.
• Sophomore center Neemias Queta, the reigning MW Freshman and Defensive Player of the Year, was one of just two true freshmen over the past 17 seasons that finished the year with 400-plus points, 80-plus blocks and 50-plus assists (Anthony Davis, 2012).
• Head coach Craig Smith has the best record of any coach in USU history over their first two years with an overall mark of 36-8.
The Utah State/Fresno State Series
• Utah State and Fresno State have faced 62 times, representing the 12th-longest series in Utah State history. USU leads the all-time series 37-25, including a 24-8 advantage in Logan.
• Utah State has won five of the last six against the Bulldogs, with the only loss coming in Logan in a 78-77, last-second defeat on Jan. 9, 2019. The game was the only home defeat for the Aggies during the 2018-19 season.
• Utah State's 25-point victory over Fresno State in the 2019 Mountain West Tournament is the largest margin of victory for the Aggies over the Bulldogs since joining the league in 2013-14.
• Utah State scored 80 or more points in each of the last two games against the Bulldogs. The Aggies are 4-1 against the Bulldogs when scoring 80 or more points, since joining the MW.
• Utah State has had four players in double figures in seven of the 11 games during the series.
• Fresno State has had a player score 20 or more points in nine of the 11 games during the series.
• Sophomore center Neemias Queta recorded a career-high six blocks against Fresno State on Jan. 9, tying for the third-most in a single game in Utah State history. Queta is averaging a double-double of 14.7 points and 12.3 rebounds per game against the Bulldogs during his career.
• Four of the last five games have been determined in the closing seconds of regulation as a 3-point basket by then-senior Quinn Taylor with 14 seconds gave the Aggies a five-point lead late at Fresno State on Feb. 5, 2019, earlier in the season Fresno State beat the Aggies with a 3-point basket with five seconds on the clock on Jan. 9, 2019, in Logan. Utah State provided the same late-game closure in Fresno, Calif., on Jan. 27, 2018, hitting a 3-point game winner with 0.7 seconds on the clock. The game in Logan on Jan. 3, 2018, came down to free throws in regulation as a Utah State free throw with one second on the clock sent the game into overtime, where the Aggies came out on top, 81-79.
