San Diego State vs. Utah State: 2019-20 key storylines for matchup

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SUNRISE, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 21: Neemias Queta #23 of the Utah State Aggies (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

Aggies look to remain in contention

Utah State is losing a bit of momentum right now. The Aggies (13-3, 2-1 in conference play) are coming off of an unexpected and embarrassing loss to a 7-8 UNLV squad on the road. Star Neemias Queta made a brief return to the court last week, only to be re-injured early on in a win against Florida. Now one of college basketball’s two undefeated teams comes to Logan to play. That’s a scary thought. Right?

Remember, this Utah State team was touted as a preseason top-20 team and the favorite to win the Mountain West this season. The Aggies posted an impressive record without Queta, and that’s mostly due to a more-involved rotation and a number of players who have stepped up to help out reigning Mountain West Player of the Year Sam Merrill on both sides of the ball. The most impressive of these players has to be Justin Bean. Bean exploded onto the scene and has been averaging around 14 points a game. The pair has kept Utah State mostly on track (Excluding the team’s New Year’s Day performance against UNLV).

I would expect the Aggies to be that much more eager and ready to play with the opportunity to hog the conference spotlight against San Diego State this week. Especially considering the Aztecs are coming to Utah. That leads me to…