SAN ANTONIO -- The UTSA men's basketball team wraps up a five-game swing away from San Antonio with a tough test at No. 17 Utah State, with tipoff on Monday night slated for 8 p.m. CT at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. The game will be televised live on Stadium and will be broadcast live on the Roadrunners Sports Network, with the Voice of UTSA, Andy Everett, calling the action live on Ticket 760 AM.
UTSA (0-4) has opened the season with four games away from San Antonio, falling in the season lidlifter on Nov. 5 at Oklahoma, 85-67, before Southern Illinois, Oakland and Delaware claimed wins over the Roadrunners in a three-game event in Kissimmee, Fla., Nov. 8-10, part of a seven-day road swing for UTSA.
The Roadrunners have averaged 67 points per game to open the year, shooting 35.5 percent from the field and 28.8 from 3-point land. Opponents are averaging 80.8 points per game, shooting 47.7 percent from the field and 36.3 percent from behind the arc. UTSA has been led in scoring by junior guard Jhivvan Jackson, who averages 25.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Junior guard Keaton Wallace averages 13.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game, with freshman center Jacob Germany owning six points and four rebounds per game.
Junior forward Luka Barisic is averaging 5.0 points and 3.0 rebounds per game, while junior guard Knox Hellums is sporting 4.8 points and 1.5 rebounds per game. Senior forward Byron Frohnen – who has made all 104 career starts – averages 4.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.
Utah State (4-0) is off to a strong start to the season, cruising to three straight home wins to open the year, including a season-opening 81-73 win over Montana State, an 89-34 rout of Weber State and a 97-56 win over Denver. A home 81-54 win over North Carolina A&T lifted the Aggies to 4-0 before the clash with the Roadrunners. The Aggies have won 11 of their last 12 games, with the lone loss coming to Washington in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Aggies are averaging 87 points per game early in the 2019-20 season, shooting 49.4 percent from the field and 38.8 percent from behind the 3-point land. Known as a strong defensive and elite rebounding team, Utah State is averaging 44.8 rebounds per game, with a +15.8 margin. Opponents are shooting 35 percent from the field in 2019-20, and 32.5 percent from behind the arc.
The Aggies are coming off a 28-7 season that finished with a No. 31 NET ranking, posting a 15-3 mark in the Missouri Valley Conference. Senior guard Sam Merrill leads the Aggies in 2019-20 after averaging 20.9 points and 4.2 assists per game last year. Merrill, tabbed in the preseason as the favorite to win national player of the year by several publications, is averaging 18.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game as a senior.
Neemias Queta, a 7-foot, 245-pound sophomore center, averaged 11.8 points and 8.9 rebounds per game in his collegiate debut in 2018-19. Brock Miller, a 6-5 guard, helps shoulder the scoring load, averaging 13.8 points per game, while 6-7 sophomore forward Justin Bean is owning 14.3 points and 11.0 rebounds per game. Alphonso Anderson, a 6-6 forward, has averaged 13.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.
The Roadrunners have fallen in both previous meetings with Utah State, a 71-67 loss at the Convocation Center in December 2012 and a road loss later that season.
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