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LOGAN, Utah - Utah State men's basketball closes out its 2020-21 regular season at Fresno State on Saturday at 9 p.m. (MT) on Fox Sports 1 (Xfinity Ch. 265/HD691, DirecTV Ch. 219, DISH Ch. 150).
Opening Tips
• Utah State is 41-13 in Mountain West play under head coach
Craig Smith and is 5-1 against Fresno State during his tenure. Overall, Utah State leads the all-time series 40-25 against the Bulldogs and has won eight of the nine, including each of the last four games in Fresno. All-time, USU is 12-16 on the road in the series.
• Junior center Neemias Queta is one of just six players since the 1992-93 season to average more than 14.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.5 blocks per game, joining the likes of Tim Duncan ('95-96, '96-97), Chris Webber ('92-93) and Bo Outlaw ('92-93). The last player to have that stat line was Jason Thompson from Rider during the 2007-08 season.
• Queta is the only player in the nation with 65 or more assists and 65 or more blocks. Queta leads the Mountain West in field goal percentage (.571), 2-point field goals (141), defensive rebounds (168), total rebounds (237), blocks (71), blocks per game (3.0), player efficiency rating (31.4), defensive rebound percentage (27.8), total rebound percentage (19.6), block percentage (12.8), defensive rating (80.8), defensive win shares (2.3), win shares per 40 minutes (.275), defensive box plus/minus (6.5) and box plus/minus (12.2).
• 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 (2.3). Queta is second in the nation in defensive box plus/minus (6.5) and third in overall defensive rating (80.8). Queta's 71 total blocks this season ranks fourth in the nation, while his average of 2.96 per game ranks fifth.
• Over the course of his career, Queta has a school-record 193 total blocks, including 133 rejections in league play, second all-time in Mountain West history. Queta is five blocks shy of the all-time MW record held by San Diego State's Skylar Spencer of 138 set during league games from 2012-16.
• Queta and junior forward Justin Bean have each logged a double-double in each of the last five and three games, respectively. During that stretch, Queta is averaging 23.6 points, 12.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 2.6 blocks and 1.2 steals per game. Over the last two games, Bean is averaging 19.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 2.7 steals per game.
• Junior guard Brock Miller missed the Aggies' last contest against Wyoming, snapping a streak of 92 consecutive games played.
• Redshirt junior guard Marco Anthony has locked up two of the best guards in the league over the two games, holding Nevada's Grant Sherfield to 8.5 points per game and 28.5 percent shooting from the floor (6-of-21). Anthony followed up that performance by guarding Wyoming's Marcus Williams and holding him to four points on just 25.0 percent (2-of-8) shooting from the floor.
• Utah State has had 10 different players lead the team in steals during a game this season.
Utah State/Fresno State Series
• Utah State and Fresno State have faced 65 times, representing the 12th-longest series in Utah State history. USU leads the all-time series 40-25 and has won eight of the last nine, including four straight in Fresno, Calif.
• Utah State's only loss over the last eight games came on a last-second shot in Logan as Fresno State came away with the 78-77 victory on Jan. 9, 2019. The loss was the Aggies' only defeat at home that season.
• Utah State's 25-point victory over Fresno State in the 2019 Mountain West Tournament is the largest margin of victory for the Aggies over the Bulldogs since joining the league in 2013-14.
• Junior center Neemias Queta recorded a career-high six blocks against Fresno State on Jan. 9, 2019, tying for the third-most in a single game in Utah State history.
• Fresno State associate head coach Tarvish Felton was a long-time member of the coaching staff at Utah State, working alongside Stew Morrill and Tim Duryea from 2009-18.
• In the last game between the two teams, Fresno State was held without a player in double figures. Utah State's rebounding was also held in check as the Aggies only had a plus-1 rebound margin and four players tying for the team lead with five rebounds apiece.
• Five of the last eight games have been determined in the closing seconds of regulation. Fresno State's New Williams hit a 3-point shot at the end of regulation on Dec. 7, 2019, sending the game into overtime. In 2018-19, a 3-point basket with 14 seconds gave the Aggies a five-point lead late at Fresno State on Feb. 5, 2019. In the first meeting in 2018-19, Fresno State beat the Aggies with a 3-point basket with five seconds on the clock on Jan. 9, 2019, in Logan. During the 2017-18 season, Utah State provided the same late-game closure in Fresno, Calif., on Jan. 27, 2018, hitting a 3-point game winner with 0.7 seconds on the clock. The game in Logan on Jan. 3, 2018, came down to free throws in regulation as a Utah State free throw with one second on the clock sent the game into overtime, where the Aggies came out on top, 81-79.