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LOGAN, Utah - Utah State men's basketball (20-8) is a No. 11 seed in the 2021 NCAA Tournament and will play sixth-seeded Texas Tech (17-10) in the first round on Friday, March 19, at 11:45 a.m. (MT), in Bloomington, Ind. The game will be televised live on TNT (Xfinity 39, DirecTV Ch. 245, Dish Ch. 138).

Opening Tips
• Utah State men's basketball will be making its 22nd NCAA Tournament appearance all-time, including its 10th in the last 22 years, when the 11th-seeded Aggies face sixth-seeded Texas Tech in the first round of the South Region on Friday, March 19, in Bloomington, Ind.

• This will be the first time that Utah State and Texas Tech will be playing one another in the NCAA Tournament. Overall, the series is tied at 2-2 as the two teams last faced one another in 2016.

• Utah State received an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament for just the third time in school history, joining the 2006 and 2010 teams, that were both 12th seeds.

• Utah State is making its second-straight NCAA Tournament appearance and last won a game in the NCAA Tournament in 2001, when the 12th-seeded Aggies recorded a 77-68 overtime win against fifth-seeded Ohio State in the first round. USU earned the Mountain West's automatic bid to the 2020 NCAA Tournament before it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Utah State has played in the NCAA Tournament 13 previous times since seedings started in 1980 and this is the third time it has been an 11 seed. Overall, USU has been listed as an eighth seed once (2019), a 10th seed twice (1983, 1988), an 11th seed three times (1980, 2009, 2021), a 12th seed six times (1998, 2000, 2001, 2006, 2010, 2011), a 14th seed once (2005) and a 15th seed once (2003).

• Junior center Neemias Queta is one of only two players in the NCAA since the 1992-93 season to average more than 14.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.0 blocks, 2.5 assists and 1.0 steals per game (Bo Outlaw, Houston, 1992-93).

• Queta is the only player in the nation with 65 or more assists and 65 or more blocks, totaling 71 assists and 90 blocks during the 2020-21 campaign.

• Queta leads the nation in defensive win shares (2.8) and defensive box plus/minus (6.6), and is in the top-20 in total blocks (90, 2nd), double-doubles (15, 4th), total rebounds (281, 6th), total rebounds per game (10.0, 18th) and defensive rebounds per game (7.14, 19th). Queta leads the Mountain West in field goal percentage (.557), 2-point field goals (162), defensive rebounds (200), total rebounds (281), blocks (90), rebounds per game (10.0), blocks per game (3.2), player efficiency (30.8), effective field goal percentage (.557), defensive rebound percentage (26.8), total rebound percentage (19.0), block percentage (13.0), defensive rating (80.6), win shares (5.6) and box plus/minus (11.9).

• Queta is one of 10 semifinalists, one of just three outside the Power 5, for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award and leads the nation in defensive win shares (2.8) and defensive box plus/minus (6.6). Queta's 90 total blocks this season ranks second in the nation, while his average of 3.21 per game ranks third.

• Queta was named the National Defensive Player of the Year by Bleacher Report and the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year by both the Mountain West coaches and media. Queta was named the MW Player of the Year by the MW media and to the all-MW first team by both the media and coaches.

• Over the course of his career, Queta has a school-record 212 total blocks to rank fifth in Mountain West history. Queta has recorded 137 of those rejections in league play to rank second all-time in MW history.