Men's Basketball | 12/5/2024 2:00:00 PM

Game #11
Who | Utah Tech (2-8) at Utah State (8-0)
When | Saturday, Dec. 7 – 7 p.m.
Where | Dee Glen Smith Spectrum – Logan, Utah
Broadcast | KMYU My Utah TV/ Mountain West Network / 99.5 The Fan Sports Network
Social Media | Instagram + Twitter (X) + #UtahTechBlazers + #WACmbb

Scouting the Aggies
Utah State enters Saturday night's contest against the Trailblazers as one of nine undefeated teams remaining in Division I with a perfect 8-0 record.

The Aggies are coming off a thrilling 70-67 win at home on Wednesday night over Wyoming in their Mountain West opener.

Utah State is 5-0 at home with wins over Alcorn State (101-46), Charlotte (103-74), Westminster (117-53) and Montana (95-83) in addition to Wyoming.

The Aggies also have neutral sites wins over Iowa (77-69) in Kansas City and wins at the NIT Season Tip-Off in Orlando against St. Bonaventure (72-67) and North Texas (61-57).

The Aggies are coming off a 28-7 overall record in 2023-24 while winning the MW regular season with a 14-4 mark. USU advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to eventual national runner-up Purdue.

Led by first-year head coach Jerrod Calhoun, Utah State was selected sixth in the MW Preseason poll while senior Ian Martinez was selected preseason All-Mountain West.

Martinez leads the MW averaging 19.1 points per game and has scored in double figures in all eight contests this season. Martinez also sits atop the conference in free throw percentage (93.2) and three-point percentage (45.5).

As a team, the Aggies lead the MW in offensive rebounds per game (14.50), scoring margin (22.5), scoring offense (87.0) and steals per game (10.1).

Series History vs. Utah State & Mountain West Conference
This will be the Trailblazers' second meeting against Utah State.         

The two teams met on Dec. 1, 2022 falling 86-81 to the Aggies in Logan with Noa Gonsalves pouring in 15 points.

This Trailblazers have played five current members of the Mountain West, including two this season against Wyoming and Boise State.

The Blazers have faced MW opponents in Boise State (0-1, Dec. 3, 2024), Wyoming (0-1, Nov. 16, 2024), Nevada (0-1, Nov. 7, 2022), New Mexico (0-1, Jan. 13, 2021) & Utah State.

Trailblazers on Local TV
ln addition to Saturday's game being on the Mountain West Network, the game will also be broadcasted on KMYU My Utah TV.

Last Time Out
The Trailblazers are coming off a 87-64 loss at Boise State on Tuesday night.

Utah Tech was led in scoring by the duo of senior guards Justin Bieker and Noa Gonsalves with 10 points apiece.

Samuel Ariyibi, coming off the bench for the first time this season, added nine points and a team-high five rebounds, while freshman guard Hunter Schenck registered a season-high nine points.

Seeing his run of three straight double-doubles come to an end, senior guard Beon Riley added eight points, two rebounds and an assist.

The first seven minutes of action saw the Trailblazers nearly keep pace with the Broncos trailing 12-9 after a three-pointer from Ariyibi.

A 9-2 run for the Broncos opened up a 10-point lead and the Broncos ended the half on a 16-7 run to take a 17-point lead to the break.

The Broncos extended their lead to as many as 29 (68-39) to open the second half on their way to the victory.

Where the Blazers Rank in the WAC/NCAA
Utah Tech ranks second in the WAC in three point percentage defense holding opponents to 31.0 percent from beyond the arc. The Trailblazers are also second in turnovers per game (11.0) and are sixth in scoring defense (75.4).

Individually, Riley is second in the WAC in double-doubles (4), is third in rebounds (70) and rebounds per game (7.8).

Gonsalves sits atop the WAC in steals (17), is second in three-point field goals made (21) and fourth in minutes per game (33:22).

Gonsalves Set to be Three Point King
Gonsalves moved into a tie for the most career three pointers made with 166 (Brandon Simister) on Tuesday.

He also sits atop the career three-point field goal attempts (442) and is ninth in 3-point percentage at 37.6 percent.

Bieker Heating Up
After opening the season with a career-high 14 points at Oregon State, the next five contests saw Bieker only average 4.4 points per contest.

That was until the last four contests that has seen him reach double figures in all four outings, averaging 13.3 points in that stretch, including setting a new career best with 19 points and grabbed a career-high six rebounds at Portland State on Nov. 30.

Array of Trailblazers Getting into the Action
Tuesday's contest saw 12 or more Trailblazers get in to the action for the fifth time this season  while it was the fourth time at least nine players have scored.

Gonsalves, Bieker, Hakim Byrd and Britton Berrett have played in all 10 games while Gonsalves is the lone Blazer to score in all 10 contests.

Road Trip Wraps Up This Week
Saturday night's game wraps up an eight-game road swing as Utah Tech plays at home in its next contest against Weber State on Dec. 13.     

The Trailblazers are one of 18 Division I teams in 2024-25 who will go at least 30 days in between home games. Bethune-Cookman leads the country going 63 days (Nov. 16-Jan. 18) between home contests.

Seasoned Veteran
Head coach Jon Judkins is in his 20th season at Utah Tech this season sporting a 333-211 (.612) overall record and a 313-199 (.611) mark in NCAA play.

Only nine current Division I coaches have been at their schools longer - Greg Kampe (41st season at Oakland), Tom Izzo (30-Michigan St.), Mark Few (26-Gonzaga), James Jones (26-Yale), Randy Bennett (26-Saint Mary's), Leonard Hamilton (23-Florida St.), Scott Drew (22-Baylor), Bill Self (22-Kansas) & Gary Manchel (22-Mercyhurst).

What's Next
Utah Tech makes its return home for the first time in a month on Dec. 13 hosting Weber State (4-5) at 7 p.m. at Burns Arena.