Utah State Looks To Even Season Series Against No. 25 San Diego State

Feb 8, 2023, 3:43 PM | Updated: 3:47 pm

Digital Sports Producer

LOGAN, Utah – Utah State has a golden opportunity to bolster its postseason resume while simultaneously dropping the rival Aztecs down a peg or two.

The Aggies (19-5, 8-3) host the San Diego State Aztecs at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Wednesday, February 8. Tip-off for this game is scheduled for 8 p.m. (MST).

🏀 Highlights from @USUBasketball Win over Colorado State 🥶#AtThePeak | #MWMBB | #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/get8hygmoT

— Mountain West (@MountainWest) February 5, 2023

The Aggies lead the conference in three point shooting with 246 made threes, 56 more than the Wyoming Cowboys. At 41.8 percent from deep, USU leads the nation in three point shooting percentage.

Their long-range marksmanship showed up in an 88-79 win over Colorado State last week when the Aggies drilled 18 shots from distance. Junior guard Steven Ashworth equaled a career high, finishing 8-of-17 from three. Graduate-senior forward Taylor Funk made five threes on his way to 21 points while senior forward Sean Bairstow hit added three triples of his own.

Who do you think you are? I AM!

📺 @CBSSportsNet @stevenAsh_15 | #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/ocmHkt2Fyf

— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) February 5, 2023

USU has fallen behind New Mexico as the MW’s scoring leaders, averaging 80.4 points per game while allowing 71.4 points per game.

Utah State joins New Mexico in the others receiving votes section of the Top-25 poll. The Lobos received 16 points while USU has two.

USU point guard Rylan Jones is unavailable for the ninth straight game.

No. 25 San Diego State Aztecs (18-5, 9-2)

San Diego State enters ranked 25th in the country, a drop of three spots from last week after suffering a 75-66 road loss against Nevada. SDSU beat Air Force 70-60 in their most recent action.

Sitting atop the Mountain West standings, the Aztecs lead Utah State by one game. They hold a half-game lead over Nevada.

𝐖𝐞𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧‼️

🆚 San Diego State
🕒 8:00 PM
📺 @CBSSportsNet
🔊 https://t.co/G20BK2ZYpI

🎟➡️ https://t.co/zRlgIMaCKc #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/7zTpvSh8oG

— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) February 8, 2023

San Diego State averages 74.8 points per game while allowing 65.7 points per game, the third best mark in the conference. San Diego State (9.1) and Utah State (9.0) have the third and fourth largest scoring margins in the conference.

SDSU limits opponents to 30.1 percent shooting from three, the third best mark in the Mountain West. The Aztec defense limited USU to 33.3 percent from deep in their first matchup. The Aggies made 11-of-33 attempts in the loss.

San Diego State relies on a balanced scoring attack with only two double-digit scorers. Matt Bradley leads the team at 12.8 points per game (18th in MW) while Darrion Trammell adds 10.8. Behind those two, SDSU has six other players averaging at least seven points per contest.

The Aztecs held off a second-half comeback attempt from the Aggies earlier this season, winning 85-75 on January 25.

Up Next

Utah State heads to California where they will face the San Jose State Spartans (14-10, 5-6) on Saturday, February 11. Tip-off for this game is scheduled for 8 p.m. (MST) USU will be looking to sweep the season series against the Spartans after a 75-74, come-from-behind win in Logan on January 21.

Every Utah State basketball game can be heard on the KSL Sports Zone with Scott Garrard on the call.

Coverage of Utah State University Athletics from KSL Sports can be found here.

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