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LOGAN, Utah - Utah State (21-7, 10-5 MW) men's basketball continues its 2019-20 season hosting Wyoming (6-20, 1-13 MW) on Wednesday, Feb. 19, at 7 p.m. USU is 30-50 all-time against the Cowboys, including a 20-17 mark at home. Fans can watch the game on ESPN3, streaming online at www.espn.com/watch.
Opening Tips
• Utah State has led wire-to-wire in each of the last two games and has carried a lead in 115.6 of 120 total minutes played (96.3 percent) over the last three contests.
• Utah State has logged back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since the 2011-12 and 2012-13 campaigns. Overall, it is the 30th time in school history that USU has won at least 20 games in a season.
• Utah State is 25-8 against Mountain West opponents over the last two years, including a 14-2 mark at home. All-time, USU is 65-58 in the MW since joining the league in 2013-14.
• Utah State earned a combined 3.11 grade point average during the fall semester, making up a combined 3.32 grade point average for USU student-athletes, the highest semester GPA for the Aggies in school history.
• Senior guard Sam Merrill became the fourth Aggie in school history and just the sixth player in MW history to surpass 2,000 career points. Merrill currently has 2,052 points to rank No. 3 all-time in USU history and needs 76 more points to finish second.
• Merrill has the chance to move ahead of former Wyoming Cowboy Justin James for fourth on the all-time scoring list in MW history as James finished with 2,061 points.
• Merrill has scored in double figures in all but one game he's played in this season and in each of the last 19 games, increasing his total of 102 career games in double figures, moving to third in school history. Merrill needs three more games to move into a tie for second.
• Merrill is second all-time in career assists (456) and is both the USU and MW-record holder in career free throw percentage, converting 89.1 percent (423-of-475) at the line.
• Merrill earned his second MW Player of the Week award of the season on Feb. 17, after averaging 28.0 points, 4.5 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game in back-to-back wins over Colorado State and Fresno State. Merrill shot 60.6 percent (20-of-33) from the floor, 56.3 percent (9-of-16) from behind the 3-point line and 87.5 percent (7-of-8) at the free throw line during the week.
• Sophomore center Neemias Queta recorded his 100th career block against UNLV, becoming the fifth Aggie in school history to record 100 or more blocks in a career. Queta needs eight more blocks to move into a tie for fourth all-time.
• Queta has recorded multiple blocks in more than half of the games he has played in during his career at Utah State, including each of the last four contests. Queta leads the MW with 1.8 blocks per game in league play.
• Senior guard Diogo Brito has surpassed 100 career steals this year, totaling 114 during his career to rank 10th in school history. Brito is second in the MW with 1.6 steals per game. Brito has logged at least one steal in each of the last four games.
• Brito has scored in double figures in each of the last three games for the Aggies. Utah State is a perfect 28-0 over the last two years when Brito scores in double figures.
• Sophomore forward Justin Bean, a former walk-on, is one of only two players in the MW averaging a double-double, turning in 12.3 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. Bean is 13th in the nation with 13 double-doubles this season, the most by an Aggie since Eric Franson logged 15 double-doubles during the 1994-95 season.
• Bean's effort on the floor is evident as he leads the league with 3.64 offensive rebounds per game overall and is also the league leader with 1.8 steals per game in league play. Bean has logged a steal in eight of the last nine game and recorded his 102nd offensive rebound of the season at Fresno State.
• Head coach Craig Smith recorded his 200th head coaching victory in the Aggies' 71-59 win over Fresno State. Smith will be looking for his 50th head coaching victory with the Aggies against the Cowboys.
The Utah State/Wyoming Series
• Utah State and Wyoming will play for the 81st time on Wednesday, marking the seventh-longest series in USU history.
• Wyoming leads the all-time series against the Aggies, 50-30, making it one of just three teams in the MW that has a series advantage over Utah State (San Diego State, UNLV).
• Utah State has won each of the last three contests and will be looking for the second consecutive season sweep against the Cowboys on Wednesday night. The four-game winning streak would match the longest in the series, set during the 1958-59 and 1959-60 seasons.
• Utah State held Wyoming to 45 points in the last game between the two teams, the fewest points scored by the Cowboys during Mountain West play.
• Points in the paint have proven to be critical as the team that has scored more inside has won the game 12 of the last 14 times.
• Points off turnovers have also been important, as the team that has recorded more points off turnovers has won nine of the last 14 meetings.
• Utah State has had at least three players score in double figures in all but three games against Wyoming during the MW era.
• Senior guard Sam Merrill has scored in double figures in every game against the Cowboys in his career, including a team-best 22 points on Jan. 12, 2019.
• Last season, Utah State swept Wyoming for the first time since the 1961-62 season. The Aggies' 68-45 victory over the Cowboys on Jan. 28, marked the first back-to-back wins in Laramie for Utah State since the 1958-59 and 1959-60 campaigns.
