# 2019–20 Utah State Aggies men's basketball team

The 2019–20 Utah State Aggies men's basketball team represented Utah State University in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Aggies, led by second-year head coach Craig Smith, played their home games at the Smith Spectrum in Logan, Utah as members of the Mountain West Conference. They finished the season 26–8, 12–6 in Mountain West play to finish in a three-way tie for second place. They defeated New Mexico, Wyoming and San Diego State to become champions of the Mountain West tournament, their second consecutive Mountain West tournament championship. They earned the Mountain West's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. However, on March 12 it was announced that the NCAA Tournament would be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Previous season

The Aggies shared the regular-season Mountain West title with Nevada, and defeated New Mexico, Fresno State, and San Diego State to win the Mountain West tournament to earn the Mountain West's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament for their first appearance since 2011. They lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Washington.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Tauriawn Knight | 1 | G | 6'1" | 170 | Freshman | Edmond, OK | Transferred |
| Dwayne Brown Jr. | 2 | G/F | 6'6" | 220 | Senior | Conyers, GA | Graduated |
| John Knight III | 3 | G | 6'2" | 195 | Sophomore | Jackson, MS | Transferred to SUU |
| Crew Ainge | 4 | F | 5'11" | 180 | RS Sophomore | Wellesley, MA | Transferred to Babson |
| Quinn Taylor | 10 | F | 6'8" | 240 | RS Senior | Houston, TX | Graduated |
| Ke'Sean Davis | 13 | F | 6'7" | 225 | Junior | Compton, CA | Left team |
| Ben Fakira | 21 | F | 6'10" | 240 | Freshman | Sydney, Australia | Left team |

### Incoming college transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous college |
| Carson Bischoff | 1 | G | 6'4" | 210 | Junior | Ogden, Utah | Junior college transfer from Treasury Valley CC |
| Alphonso Anderson | 10 | F | 6'6" | 220 | Junior | Tacoma, Washington | Junior college transfer from North Idaho College |
| Marco Anthony | 44 | F | 6'5" | 225 | Junior | San Antonio, Texas | Transfer from Virginia |
| Kuba Karwowski | 52 | C | 7'2" | 220 | Junior | Warsaw, Poland | Junior college transfer from North Platte CC |

### Recruiting

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Liam McChesney PF | Prince Rupert, BC | Charles Hays | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Nov 12, 2018 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Sean Bairstow SF | Brisbane, QLD | Churchie | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Feb 27, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Cade Potter PF | Orange, CA | Orange Lutheran | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Sep 1, 2018 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: – Rivals: – 247Sports: #65 ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 15, 2019. ||||||

## Preseason
### Mountain West media poll

The Mountain West Conference media poll was released on October 15, 2019. The Aggies were unanimously selected by MW media members as the preseason favorites.
Media poll :
| Predicted finish | Team |
| 1 | Utah State |
| 2 | San Diego State |
| 3 | New Mexico |
| 4 | Nevada |
| 5 | Boise State |
| 6 | Fresno State |
| 7 | UNLV |
| 8 | Air Force |
| 9 | Colorado State |
| 10 | Wyoming |
| 11 | San Jose State |

### Preseason All-MWC teams

Sam Merrill and Neemias Queta were selected to the All-MWC Preseason Team. Merrill was additionally selected as the Mountain West Preseason Player of the Year.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| Oct 30, 2019* 7:00 pm | No. 17 | College of Idaho | W 103–66 | | 19 – Brito | 11 – Anderson | 7 – Bairstow | Smith Spectrum (6,017) Logan, UT |
| Regular season |||||||||
| Nov 5, 2019* 8:00 pm, ATTSNRM | No. 17 | Montana State | W 81–73 | 1–0 | 28 – Merrill | 10 – Bean | 4 – Porter | Smith Spectrum (7,331) Logan, UT |
| Nov 8, 2019* 7:00 pm, Stadium | No. 17 | Weber State | W 89–34 | 2–0 | 18 – Bean | 9 – Bean | 10 – Porter | Smith Spectrum (8,840) Logan, UT |
| Nov 12, 2019* 7:00 pm, Stadium | No. 17 | Denver | W 97–56 | 3–0 | 27 – Miller | 15 – Bean | 5 – Tied | Smith Spectrum (6,504) Logan, UT |
| Nov 15, 2019* 7:00 pm, Stadium | No. 17 | North Carolina A&T Jamaica Classic | W 81–54 | 4–0 | 21 – Anderson | 10 – Bean | 5 – Merrill | Smith Spectrum (8,864) Logan, UT |
| Nov 18, 2019* 7:00 pm, Stadium | No. 15 | UTSA | W 82–50 | 5–0 | 21 – Merrill | 11 – Tied | 5 – Bean | Smith Spectrum (8,667) Logan, UT |
| Nov 22, 2019* 2:30 pm, CBSSN | No. 15 | vs. LSU Jamaica Classic | W 80–78 | 6–0 | 24 – Tied | 12 – Bean | 8 – Merrill | Montego Bay Convention Centre (1,452) Montego Bay, Jamaica |
| Nov 24, 2019* 4:30 pm, CBSSN | No. 15 | vs. North Texas Jamaica Classic | W 68–59 | 7–0 | 19 – Anderson | 13 – Bean | 3 – Merrill | Montego Bay Convention Centre Montego Bay, Jamaica |
| Nov 29, 2019* 9:30 pm, ESPNU | No. 15 | at Saint Mary's | L 73–81 | 7–1 | 24 – Bean | 9 – Bean | 7 – Porter | McKeon Pavilion (3,500) Moraga, CA |
| Dec 4, 2019 9:15 pm, ESPN2 | No. 25 | at San Jose State | W 71–59 | 8–1 (1–0) | 18 – Bean | 14 – Bean | 3 – Tied | Provident Credit Union Event Center (2,294) San Jose, CA |
| Dec 7, 2019 4:00 pm, ATTSNRM | No. 25 | Fresno State | W 77–70 $^{OT}$ | 9–1 (2–0) | 24 – Merrill | 13 – Bean | 5 – Brito | Smith Spectrum (9,815) Logan, UT |
| Dec 10, 2019* 7:00 pm | | Saint Katherine | W 94–49 | 10–1 | 22 – Miller | 14 – Bean | 5 – Bairstow | Smith Spectrum (6,006) Logan, UT |
| Dec 14, 2019* 5:00 pm, BYU TV | | vs. BYU Old Oquirrh Bucket/Beehive Classic | L 64–68 | 10–2 | 14 – Anderson | 10 – Bean | 4 – Porter | Vivint Smart Home Arena (10,291) Salt Lake City, UT |
| Dec 18, 2019* 5:45 pm, ESPN3 | | vs. South Florida Battleground 2K19 | W 76–74 $^{OT}$ | 11–2 | 21 – Merrill | 9 – Bean | 7 – Porter | Toyota Center (18,055) Houston, TX |
| Dec 21, 2019* 12:30 pm, FS1 | | vs. Florida Orange Bowl Classic | W 65–62 | 12–2 | 21 – Merrill | 9 – 2 tied | 5 – 2 tied | BB&T Center (8,927) Sunrise, FL |
| Dec 28, 2019* 2:00 pm | | Eastern Oregon | W 129–61 | 13–2 | 25 – Miller | 12 – Bean | 11 – Brito | Smith Spectrum (8,338) Logan, UT |
| Jan 1, 2020 9:00 pm, CBSSN | | at UNLV | L 53–70 | 13–3 (2–1) | 17 – Bean | 11 – Bean | 3 – Porter | Thomas & Mack Center (7,571) Las Vegas, NV |
| Jan 4, 2020 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | No. 13 San Diego State | L 69–77 | 13–4 (2–2) | 26 – Merrill | 14 – Queta | 5 – Porter | Smith Spectrum (10,017) Logan, UT |
| Jan 7, 2020 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Air Force | L 60–79 | 13–5 (2–3) | 16 – Miller | 5 – Bean | 3 – Porter | Clune Arena (4,563) Colorado Springs, CO |
| Jan 11, 2020 6:00 pm, CBSSN | | Nevada | W 80–70 | 14–5 (3–3) | 19 – Queta | 8 – Merrill | 8 – Merrill | Smith Spectrum (8,725) Logan, UT |
| Jan 18, 2020 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Boise State | L 83–88 $^{OT}$ | 14–6 (3–4) | 30 – Merrill | 10 – Bean | 4 – Porter | ExtraMile Arena (6,047) Boise, ID |
| Jan 21, 2020 9:00 pm, ESPNU | | Air Force | W 72–47 | 15–6 (4–4) | 16 – Bean | 13 – Bean | 5 – Bean | Smith Spectrum (8,442) Logan, UT |
| Jan 25, 2020 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | Colorado State | W 77–61 | 16–6 (5–4) | 28 – Merrill | 9 – Bean | 5 – 3 tied | Smith Spectrum (9,791) Logan, UT |
| Jan 28, 2020 9:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Wyoming | W 68–45 | 17–6 (6–4) | 14 – Merrill | 12 – Queta | 4 – Brito | Arena-Auditorium (3,115) Laramie, WY |
| Feb 1, 2020 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | at No. 4 San Diego State | L 68–80 | 17–7 (6–5) | 16 – Merrill | 6 – Queta | 12 – Merrill | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| Feb 5, 2020 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | UNLV | W 69–54 | 18–7 (7–5) | 21 – Queta | 11 – Bean | 5 – Queta | Smith Spectrum (8,987) Logan, UT |
| Feb 8, 2020 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | Boise State | W 70–61 | 19–7 (8–5) | 21 – Queta | 16 – Bean | 4 – Tied | Smith Spectrum (10,033) Logan, UT |
| Feb 11, 2020 7:30 pm, CBSSN | | at Colorado State | W 75–72 | 20–7 (9–5) | 32 – Merrill | 11 – Queta | 5 – Merrill | Moby Arena (4,038) Fort Collins, CO |
| Feb 15, 2020 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Fresno State | W 71–59 | 21–7 (10–5) | 24 – Merrill | 11 – Bean | 4 – Merrill | Save Mart Center (5,671) Fresno, CA |
| Feb 19, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Wyoming | W 78–58 | 22–7 (11–5) | 26 – Merrill | 15 – Queta | 5 – Brito | Smith Spectrum (9,452) Logan, UT |
| Feb 25, 2020 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | | San Jose State | W 94–56 | 23–7 (12–5) | 23 – Queta | 13 – Bean | 7 – Merrill | Smith Spectrum (8,925) Logan, UT |
| Feb 29, 2020 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | at New Mexico | L 64–66 | 23–8 (12–6) | 18 – Queta | 14 – Queta | 7 – Brito | Dreamstyle Arena (11,215) Albuquerque, NM |
| Mountain West tournament |||||||||
| Mar 5, 2020 7:00 pm, CBSSN | (2) | vs. (7) New Mexico Quarterfinals | W 75–70 | 24–8 | 29 – Merrill | 15 – Bean | 2 – Tied | Thomas & Mack Center (7,723) Paradise, NV |
| Mar 6, 2020 8:30 pm, CBSSN | (2) | vs. (11) Wyoming Semifinals | W 89–82 | 25–8 | 27 – Merrill | 10 – Bean | 7 – Merrill | Thomas & Mack Center (9,630) Paradise, NV |
| Mar 7, 2020 2:30 pm, CBS | (2) | vs. (1) No. 5 San Diego State Championship | W 59–56 | 26–8 | 27 – Merrill | 12 – Bean | 4 – Bean | Thomas & Mack Center (10,292) Paradise, NV |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Mountain. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Final |
| AP | 17 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 25 | RV | RV | RV | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | — | RV | RV |
| Coaches | 19 | 19 | 16 | 15 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | RV |
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings