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.

2019–20 Utah State Aggies men's basketball
Jamaica Classic champions MWC tournament champions
Conference	Mountain West Conference
Record	26–8 (12–6 MW)
Head coach	Craig Smith (2nd season)
Assistant coaches	Austin Hansen Eric Peterson David Ragland
Home arena	Smith Spectrum
Seasons ← 2018–19 2020–21 →

2019–20 Mountain West Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 6 San Diego State	17	–	1		.944			30	–	2		.938
Utah State †	12	–	6		.667			26	–	8		.765
Nevada	12	–	6		.667			19	–	12		.613
UNLV	12	–	6		.667			17	–	15		.531
Boise State	11	–	7		.611			20	–	12		.625
Colorado State	11	–	7		.611			20	–	12		.625
New Mexico	7	–	11		.389			19	–	14		.576
Fresno State	7	–	11		.389			11	–	19		.367
Air Force	5	–	13		.278			12	–	20		.375
San Jose State	3	–	15		.167			7	–	24		.226
Wyoming	2	–	16		.111			9	–	24		.273
† Conference tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

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

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

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
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   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
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   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
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   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 2019-10-15.

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.^[1]

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.^[2]

Roster

2019–20 Utah State Aggies men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown F 0 Klay Stall 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) RS Jr Basha HS Chandler, AZ G 1 Carson Bischoff (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Weber HS Ogden, UT G 2 Sean Bairstow 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Churchie Brisbane, QLD F 4 Roche Grootfaam 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 265 lb (120 kg) Sr Covenant Christian Academy College of Southern Idaho Paramaribo, Suriname G 5 Sam Merrill 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr Bountiful HS Bountiful, UT F 10 Alphonso Anderson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr Garfield HS North Idaho College Tacoma, WA F 13 Liam McChesney 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Charles Hays Prince Rupert, BC G 15 Abel Porter 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Jr Davis HS Farmington, UT G 22 Brock Miller 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS So Brighton HS Sandy, UT C 23 Neemias Queta 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 245 lb (111 kg) So Benfica Barreiro, Portugal G 24 Diogo Brito 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS Sr Mountain Mission School Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal C 32 Trevin Dorius 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 240 lb (109 kg) RS Fr Wasatch HS Heber City, UT F 34 Justin Bean 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS So Southmoore HS Moore, OK G 44 Marco Anthony (I)   6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jr Holmes HS Virginia San Antonio, TX C 52 Kuba Karwowski 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr North Platte CC Warsaw, Poland	Head coach Craig Smith (North Dakota) Assistant coach(es) Austin Hansen (South Dakota State) Eric Peterson (UW–La Crosse) David Ragland (Southern Indiana) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt Roster

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

See also: 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
— = Not ranked. RV = Received votes.

	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

References

1. "Utah State picked to win 2020 MWC Men's Basketball Championship". The MW. October 15, 2019. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
2. "Mountain West Announces 2019-20 Preseason Men's All Conference Team". The MW. October 15, 2019. Retrieved October 15, 2019.