Utah State Has Eyes Set On Massive Game Against No. 12 Nevada
Feb 28, 2019, 5:25 PM | Updated: 6:29 pm
Justin Bean #12 of the Utah State Aggies jumps to block Jazz Johnson #22 of the Nevada Wolf Pack as he goes to the basket against the Utah State Aggies at Lawlor Events Center on January 02, 2019 in Reno, Nevada. (Photo by Jonathan Devich/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jonathan Devich/Getty Images)
LOGAN, Utah – The Utah State Aggies will play their biggest home game since 2007, when they host No. 12 Nevada on senior night.
The highest ranked opponent to play in the Spectrum before Nevada was No. 7 San Diego State on January 25, 2014, they lost in overtime by five points.
At that time, the Aggies 12-7 and 2-5 in the Mountain West Conference.
Back in 2007, Utah State hosted No. 10 Nevada and picked up a 79-77 win in overtime. They finished that season with a 23-12 record and a trip to the NIT.
It's going to be a big one in Logan on Saturday! https://t.co/NBndLUoeXj pic.twitter.com/2glA3lQynW
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) March 1, 2019
Since the 2000-01 season, the Aggies are 4-23 overall against teams that are ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll. They are 2-4 at home against ranked opponents.
This game could potentially be a battle for first place and the Mountain West Conference regular season title.
Nevada won the first meeting this season in Reno with a 72-49 victory on January 2 in the conference opener. They were ranked No. 6 at the time.
Utah State leads the all-time series against Nevada 29-22, but have lost the last five games and seven of the last eight.
Nevada Has Tons Of Experience
The Wolfpack are 26-2 overall and 13-2 in the Mountain West Conference, having won their last two games since losing to San Diego State on February 20.
They have four players on their roster that are averaging over 10 points per game, led by Caleb Martin with 19.4 points per game, which is second best in the conference behind Utah State’s Sam Merrill and Wyoming guard Justin James.
Nevada has eight seniors on their team which have a ton of experience in big games. The Wolfpack reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament last season after picking up wins over Texas and Cincinnati before losing to Loyola-Chicago.
Senior big man Jordan Caroline is second in the conference in rebounding with 9.6 per game to go with his 18.4 points per game.
Caleb Martin’s twin brother Cody leads the conference in assists with 5.3. He also averages 11.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per contest.
As a team, the only category that Nevada leads the conference in is points per game with 81.5. Utah State is second at 78.3 points per game.
Utah State To Honor Two Seniors
Two players will play their final game in the Spectrum on Saturday. Dwayne Brown Jr. went to Utah State as a transfer from Northern Oklahoma Tonkawa. He started 33 games last season, but has embraced the role of coming off the bench with the arrival of first year head coach Craig Smith.
This season, Brown averages 7 points and 3 rebounds per game in 13.7 minutes. Last season, the Conyers, Georgia native posted 9 points and 5 rebounds per game.
Quinn Taylor is the other senior on the Aggies roster. The Houston, Texas native redshirted his freshman season before playing in 30 games or more the next four years. Leading into his senior campaign, Taylor averaged 5.4 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. He has posted a career-best 8.3 points and 6.2 rebounds per game average.
Utah State and Nevada will begin at 6:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
