No. 23 Utah State, Nevada clash amid strong MWC starts
No. 23 Utah State will put its undefeated Mountain West record on the line Wednesday night when it faces Nevada in Logan, Utah.
The Aggies (14-1, 5-0), ranked for a school-record third season in a row, joins No. 9 Gonzaga as one of two teams from mid-major conferences in the Top 25.
The Wolf Pack (12-4, 4-1) are also off to a strong start in conference action and are one of five MWC teams with one or fewer losses in league play.
Utah State has been dominant in conference action, most recently picking up an impressive 93-68 win at Boise State on Saturday. The 25-point margin of victory was the Aggies' biggest-ever against the Broncos.
"It was a complete team effort," USU coach Jerrod Calhoun told the Herald Journal News. "I thought a lot of guys played great."
That included a 10-0 start to the game and a 25-point performance from MJ Collins Jr. Mason Falslev added 16 points, nine rebounds, five assists, three steals and one block, while Drake Allen totaled a season-best 14 points along with eight assists despite nearly missing the game due to an illness.
"He was on an IV (Saturday). I didn't know if he was going to play, he hadn't eaten in 24 hours. He was tremendous," Calhoun told reporters. "Drake is a warrior. I should have (known) he would play. I'm really proud of him."
The Aggies also have double-digit victories over Air Force, San Jose State and Colorado State along with a nine-point road win against Fresno State.
Utah State enters this matchup on a seven-game winning streak, with its only loss of the season coming at South Florida, 74-61, on Dec. 4.
Nevada had its own seven-game winning streak snapped last week after falling at home to San Diego State 73-68 last Tuesday. The Wolfpack bounced back with a 92-83 win over Wyoming on Saturday, with Corey Camper Jr. leading the way with 31 points and seven rebounds. Elijah Price contributed 20 points, 13 boards and three blocks.
"I'm just really proud of them with all of the injuries and guys missing games. We've really gone through a stretch here of winning a lot of games," Nevada coach Steve Alford said. "We have a long way to go. We had a slippage defensively."
Price was named Mountain West Player of the Week after averaging 18.5 points and 11.5 rebounds last week.
Nevada wraps up a two-game road trip Saturday at Air Force.
"We have a big week ahead of us," Alford said. "I'm really pleased with the start of the conference season and the midpoint of the season - to be at 12 wins."
Utah State won both meetings last season, with the Wolfpack having won their only matchup in the 2023-24 campaign. The Aggies follow up Wednesday's game with a tilt Saturday at Grand Canyon.