RENO, Nev.-Wednesday, Utah State men’s basketball, currently sporting a 10-3 record, faces an extremely difficult challenge to commence Mountain West Conference play.
First-year Aggies head coach Craig Smith leads his squad into the Lawlor Events Center of Reno, Nev. to face the #6 Nevada Wolf Pack, who are currently 13-0 on the season.
Nevada is one of only five ranked teams in Division I and posts 82.8 points per game while surrendering only 67.5 points per contest.
The Wolf Pack has three double-digit scorers in senior forward Caleb Martin (19.9 points per game), senior wing Jordan Caroline (18.7 points per game) and junior guard Jazz Johnson (12.3 points per game). Caroline also amasses 9.8 rebounds per contest to bolster Nevada.
The Aggies have statistically dominated their opponents this season, scoring 81.4 points per game and surrendering only 64.8 points per tilt.
Junior guard Sam Merrill scores 19.7 points per game for the Aggies and ranks in the Top 10 nationally in free throw percentage (2nd, 92.4 percent), field goal percentage (4th, 50.6 percent) and 3-point field goal percentage (9th, 40.8 percent).
Oddly enough, when Utah State shoots a better percentage from 3-point range than their opponent, they are 8-0 on the season.
The Aggies lead the Wolf Pack 35-22 all-time but are seeking to snap a 4-game losing streak against Nevada.
Utah State also hopes to overcome their traditional futility against ranked opponents as they are 16-100 all-time against foes ranked in The Associated Press Top 25.
