USU Game Notes | Listen Live | Live Stats
LOGAN, Utah - Utah State men's basketball (23-7, 12-5 MW) punctuates its regular season on Saturday night, traveling to face New Mexico (17-13, 6-11 MW) inside Dreamstyle Arena - The Pit. The game is scheduled to tip at 8 p.m., and can be seen on the CBS Sports Network (Xfinity Ch. 269, DirecTV Ch. 221, Dish Ch. 158).
Opening Tips
• Utah State and New Mexico will take to the floor for the only meeting during the regular season on Saturday night. The game will match two of the highest-scoring teams in the MW as UNM ranks second in the MW with 77.2 points per game, while USU ranks third with 77.1 points per game.
• Utah State is riding the longest current winning streak in the Mountain West, having won each of its last six games. The streak is the longest since the Aggies won seven straight to open the 2019-20 campaign.
• Utah State is 27-8 against Mountain West opponents over the last two years, including an 11-6 mark on the road. All-time, USU is 66-58 in the MW since joining the league in 2013-14.
• Over the last 10 games, Utah State has held eight opponents to less than 40-percent shooting from the floor.
• Over the last 10 games, Utah State has scored more points in the paint than its opponents in nine games. The Aggies have also outrebounded opponents in nine of the last 10.
• USU has led wire-to-wire in four of its last 10 games and carried a double-digit lead in each of the last 13 contests. USU has posted double-digit victories in each of the last three games.
• Utah State got out to one of its fastest starts in school history in its last contest against San José State, opening with a 19-0 lead. The start was the best for the Aggies since March 1, 2010, when USU jumped out to a 22-0 lead against Fresno State.
• 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 2,096 points to rank No. 3 all-time in USU history and needs 32 more points to finish second.
• Merrill is also moving up the all-time scoring records in MW history, as he is currently ranked fourth and needs 72 points to move to third.
• Merrill has scored 30 or more points in seven games in his career, with every game coming on the road. Merrill scored a then-career-high 33 points at New Mexico on Feb. 14, 2018.
• Merrill is second all-time in career assists (467) in Utah State history and is both the USU and MW-record holder in career free throw percentage, converting 89.3 percent (432-of-484) at the line.
• 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 six more blocks to move into a tie for fourth all-time. Queta leads the MW with 1.79 blocks per game in league play.
• Utah State is No. 1 in the MW in the Mountain West in defensive FG% at the rim (.531, No. 47 nationally). UNLV is second (.589, No. 182 nationally). The gap between first and second in the MW is as big as the gap between second and ninth.
• Senior guard Diogo Brito has surpassed 100 career steals this year, totaling 116 during his career to rank 10th in school history. Brito is second in the MW with 1.53 steals per game.
• Brito has scored in double figures in each of the last two games against New Mexico. 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 three players in the MW averaging a double-double, turning in 12.5 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. Bean is 12th in the nation with 15 double-doubles this season, matching the most by an Aggie since Eric Franson logged 15 double-doubles during the 1994-95 season.
• Bean ranks 11th in the nation in total rebounds this season, pulling down 313 on the year. The total is the most by an Aggie since Cornell Green pulled down 322 rebounds during the 1961-62 season.
• Bean has recorded double-digit rebounds in each of the last three games and in five of the last six. Queta has pulled down double-digit rebounds in each of the last two games and in three of the last four.
The Utah State/New Mexico Series
• Utah State leads the all-time series against the Lobos 26-11, including a 10-8 advantage in Albuquerque. The Aggies have won each of the last three games, including a 68-66 victory inside Dreamstyle Arena - The Pit when the teams last met in Albuquerque.
• The Aggies and Lobos faced each other for 11 straight years from 1951-62. The teams met a single time in Albuquerque during the 1979-80 season, before squaring off in each of the last seven seasons as members of the Mountain West.
• The team with the lead at the half has gone on to win the game 11 of the last 14 times.
• Senior guard Sam Merrill has scored 30 points seven times in his career, with all of the games happening on the road. Merrill logged 33 points against New Mexico on Valentine's Day in 2018.
• Merrill tied his career high with seven 3-point buckets against New Mexico on Feb. 14, 2018.
• Merrill made his first career start against the Lobos during the 2016-17 season, turning in 13 points, eight assists and three steals.
• Junior guard Abel Porter hit the game-winning 3-point basket with 1.6 seconds on the clock against New Mexico in the last meeting in Albuquerque, to give Utah State its first victory in the Pit since the 2014-15 season.
• Sophomore forward Justin Bean recorded the first double-double of his career against New Mexico, logging 14 points and 15 rebounds against the Lobos in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Tournament.
• Utah State scored a Mountain West series-record 91 points in the last meeting between the two teams, a 91-83 victory in the Mountain West Tournament Quarterfinals last season.
