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Utah State (21-6, 11-3 MW) will face Boise State (11-15, 6-7 MW) inside Taco Bell Arena on Saturday, Feb. 23, at 2 p.m., in the only regular season meeting between the two teams this season.

Opening Tips
• Fans can watch the game via Stadium, online at watchstadium.com/live, with Air Wolfe providing play-by-play, Doug Gottlieb as the analyst and Kristen Balboni as the sideline reporter.

• Utah State is the only team in the Mountain West that ranks in the top three of all three shooting percentages, leading the league in free throw percentage (.749), while sitting second in field goal percentage (.472) and third in 3-point field goal percentage (.360).

• Junior guard Sam Merrill is one of three players in the MW that ranks among the top-10 in the league in field goal percentage (.463, 6th), free throw percentage (.896, 1st) and 3-point field goal percentage (.399, 5th).

• Merrill is ascending several career records, including points (17th), 3-point field goals (5th) and assists (9th). 

• Freshman center Neemias Queta has rewritten the single-season block record at Utah State with his 69 blocks this season, shattering the previous single-season record of 59. Queta also recorded a MW-freshman record six blocks against Fresno State on Jan. 9.

• Queta has more blocks individually than 89 other teams in the nation have as a whole.

• Senior forward Quinn Taylor has appeared in 121 games in his career to rank No. 8 in school history. Taylor is only six games away from moving into the top five in school history in games played.

• Utah State head coach Craig Smith is currently first in the nation among first-year head coaches in winning percentage (.778) and is tied for the most overall victories (21).

• Utah State is one of only two teams in the nation this year with an 11-win football team and a 20-win men's basketball team (Cincinnati).

Scouting Boise State
Boise State is 11-15 on the year, including a 6-7 mark in the Mountain West. The Broncos have lost four of their last five, including back-to-back games on the road at Fresno State (65-63) and San Diego State (71-65).

BSU is averaging 71.7 points per game and shooting 47.1 percent (662-of-1,406) from the floor, 34.5 percent (192-of-556) from behind the 3-point line and 71.7 percent (347-of-484) at the free throw line. Junior guard Justinian Jessup paces four Broncos in double figures, averaging a team-best 13.1 points per game, followed by junior guard Alex Hobbs (12.4 ppg), sophomore guard Derrick Alston (11.9 ppg) and junior guard RJ Williams (10.4 ppg). Williams leads Boise State on the glass, averaging 5.0 rebounds per game, while Jessup leads the Broncos in assists, averaging 2.4 per contest.

Defensively, Boise State opponents are averaging 67.9 points per game and shooting 44.5 percent (619-of-1,390) from the floor, 33.5 percent (185-of-552) from behind the 3-point line and 73.7 percent (342-of-464) at the free throw line. Williams leads the Broncos with 1.4 steals per game, while senior forward Zach Haney is tops for BSU with 0.6 blocks per game.

Weekend Warriors
Utah State is 12-1 this season in games played on Friday or Saturday.

Road Warriors
Utah State has won seven true road games this season, exceeding the combined road victory totals over the last two years and tying the most road wins for the Aggies since USU won seven road games during the 2014-15 season.

Winning with Ball Security
Utah State averaged 18.5 turnovers per game over its opening two outings in Mountain West play, but since then has only averaged 10.7 turnovers per game, while forcing 12.8 turnovers by the opposition.

Winning with Ball Security - Part II
Utah State is 13-0 on the year when recording more steals than their opponents and 9-0 on the year when committing fewer turnovers than the opposition.

The Utah State/Boise State Series - Did You Know?
• Utah State leads the all-time series against Boise State, 32-15, but the Broncos lead 11-9 in games played in Boise, Idaho.

• All but one game during Utah State's membership in the Mountain West has been decided by more than six points.

• Utah State has recorded more assists than the Broncos in all but one game during Mountain West play.

• In the last meeting on March 8, 2018, both teams recorded zero blocks. Coincidentally, that was the last time the Aggies did not record a block in a game and was also the last time they held an opposing team to zero blocks in a game.

• Senior forward Quinn Taylor is perfect from the free throw line in six games against Boise State, converting 4-of-4 from the charity stripe.

• Utah State has two players averaging double figures against Boise State over the course of their careers in junior guard Sam Merrill (16.4 ppg) and senior forward Dwayne Brown Jr. (10.3 ppg).

• Merrill recorded a career-tying-high seven 3s against the Broncos on March 8, 2018, as he also notched seven treys at San José State on Feb. 28, 2018 and at New Mexico on Feb. 14, 2018.

• The 14 made three-pointers in the last meeting was a season-high and tied for the second-most made 3s in a game in school history.

• In the last two meetings against Boise State, the Aggies have come back from a first half deficit as they were down by eight points at the break in the last meeting on March 8, 2018.

• USU had just two offensive rebounds in the last meeting, which was tied for the fewest in a game last season.