USU Game Notes | NEV Game Notes | Live Stats | Listen Live

LOGAN, Utah - Utah State men's basketball (13-5, 2-3 MW) returns to the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum to host Nevada (10-6, 3-1 MW) in the only regular-season meeting between the two schools during the 2019-20 season. The Aggies and Wolf Pack will tip at 6 p.m., with the game seen live on the CBS Sports Network (Comcast Ch. 269, DirecTV Ch. 221, Dish Ch. 158).

Opening Tips
• Utah State and Nevada will meet for the only time during the regular season on Saturday night. All-time, USU is 20-5 against the Wolf Pack in Logan.

• Utah State is 17-6 against Mountain West opponents over the last two years, including 9-2 mark at home. All-time, USU is 57-56 in the MW since joining the league in 2013-14.

• Utah State enters the game having lost each of its last three games, the longest such losing streak since the 2017-18 season. USU's three losses in conference play equal the Aggies' total conference defeats from 2018-19.

• Additionally, the Aggies have scored less than 70 points in each of the last three games, another first for USU under head coach Craig Smith.

• Utah State's magic number has been 70 over the last two seasons as the Aggies are 28-3 when holding teams to less than 70 points, including a perfect 17-0 mark when holding teams to less than 60 points.

• The Aggies are 36-4 over the last two season when scoring 70 or more points in a game.

• Utah State is second in the nation with 303 makes at the free throw line this season, while opponents have only attempted a total of 263 free throws.

• As of Jan. 9, Utah State is among the Top-10 in the nation in four different statistics. The Aggies are second in the nation in total assists (298), total rebounds (798) and free throws made (303) and fifth in the nation in free throw attempts (399).

• Utah State is also among the Top-25 in five other statistics, including defensive rebounds per game (29.67, 11th), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.37, 16th), rebound margin (7.9, 19th), total rebounds per game (41.22, 19th) and scoring margin (14.1, 21st).

• Utah State is 0-4 on the year when only two players score in double figures, but is 14-1 when three or more players log double digits.

• USU senior guard Sam Merrill is currently tied for sixth in school history with 1,844 career points, matching Marvin Roberts (1969-71). 

• With his 10 points against AFA, Merrill moved to fifth all-time with 92 double-digit scoring outings in his career, passing former teammate Jalen Moore (2014-17) with 91. Merrill has logged double figures in nine-straight games.

• Sophomore forward Justin Bean, a former walk-on, leads the Mountain West in rebounding with 10.7 boards per contest, logging a double-double in each of the Aggies' opening three MW contests. Bean is fourth in the nation with 10 double-doubles on the year.

• Bean leads the nation with 192 total rebounds this year, and ranks sixth in the nation in offensive rebounds per game (4.11) and 13th in the nation in total rebounds per game (10.7).

• Although appearing in limited games this season, sophomore center Neemias Queta has moved to No. 5 all-time in Utah State history with 90 career blocks, tying Nate Harris (2003-06).

• Senior guard Diogo Brito has surpassed 100 career steals this year, totaling 102 during his career. Brito and Merrill are the first USU teammates to surpass 100 career steals in the same season since 1987-88 (Kevin Nixon, Jeff O. Anderson).

• Brito and Merrill are also the first teammates to surpass more than 100 career games in the same season since the 2010-11 campaign.

• Utah State has been most successful this season when its starting frontcourt has outscored the opponent's frontcourt, carrying an overall mark of 7-1. All-time, USU is 22-2 under head coach Craig Smith when getting more production from its starting bigs than the opposition.

The Utah State/Nevada Series
• Utah State leads the all-time series 36-23 as the teams split games last season with the home side coming away with victories in each contest. All-time USU is 20-5 against the Wolf Pack in Logan.

• Utah State and Nevada have been conference foes for 20 years as both schools were members of the Big West Conference for seven seasons (1993-94 to 1999-2000) and members of the Western Athletic Conference for seven seasons (2005-06 to 2011-12), and have spent the past six seasons (2013-14 to present) as members of the Mountain West. During its 20 years as conference foes, the two schools have combined to win or share 17 regular season championships (USU-9, NEV-8) and claim seven post-season tournament titles (USU-5, NEV-2). USU won or shared four regular season Big West Championships (1995, 1997, 1998, 2000) and won two tournament titles (2000, 2001), while adding four regular season WAC Championships (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011) and two more tournament titles (2009, 2011), and a regular season and tournament title in the Mountain West last season for a total of nine regular season championships and five post-season tournament titles. During that same time, Nevada won one Big West Championship (1997), won or shared four WAC Championships (2006, 2007, 2008, 20012) and has added three Mountain West Championships (2017, 2018, 2019) to go along with one WAC Tournament title (2006) and one MW Tournament title (2017) for a total of eight regular season championships and two tournament titles.

• Utah State and Nevada have finished first and second in the conference standings six times as conference foes, doing so in the Big West Conference during the 1996-97 and 1997-98 seasons, and again in the WAC in 2005-06, 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10, and then again last season in the Mountain West. Furthermore, the two teams played one another twice in the championship game of the WAC Tournament, with Nevada winning in overtime in 2006 and USU winning in 2009, with both games being played in Reno.

• The team that has led at the half has gone on to win 10 if the last 12 contests. 

• Utah State has outscored the Wolf Pack in the second half in eight of the last 12 games.