Who’s Playing
Utah State Aggies @ Saint Mary’s Gaels
Current Records: Utah State 10-1, Saint Mary’s 10-2
How To Watch
What to Know
Utah State has enjoyed a four-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They are headed away from home for the first time to take on the Saint Mary’s Gaels at 8:00 p.m. ET on Sunday at University Credit Union Pavilion. The Aggies are strutting in with some offensive muscle as they’ve averaged 86.3 points per game this season.
Utah State is probably headed into the match with a chip on their shoulder considering UC San Diego just ended the team’s ten-game winning streak on Tuesday. They fell just short of the Tritons by a score of 75-73. It was the first time this season that the Aggies let down their fans at home.
Despite their loss, Utah State saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Karson Templin, who went 5 for 7 en route to 18 points plus six rebounds and two steals, was perhaps the best of all. The dominant performance also gave Templin a new career-high in threes (two). Mason Falslev was another key player, almost dropping a double-double on 16 points and nine rebounds.
Meanwhile, Saint Mary’s beat Merrimack 73-68 on Thursday.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Saint Mary’s to victory, but perhaps none more so than Paulius Murauskas, who dropped a double-double on 18 points and 11 rebounds. Murauskas had some trouble finding his footing against Boise State on Saturday, so this was a step in the right direction. The team also got some help courtesy of Mitchell Saxen, who dropped a double-double on 18 points and 12 rebounds.
Saint Mary’s smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they’ve now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in 16 consecutive games dating back to last season.
Utah State’s defeat ended an 11-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 10-1. As for Saint Mary’s, their win was their seventh straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-2.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as both are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Utah State hasn’t had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 86.3 points per game. However, it’s not like Saint Mary’s struggles in that department as they’ve been averaging 75.9. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Utah State couldn’t quite finish off Saint Mary’s in their previous meeting back in December of 2021 and fell 60-58. Can Utah State avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We’ll find out soon enough.
Series History
Saint Mary’s has won 2 out of their last 3 games against Utah State.
- Dec 02, 2021 – Saint Mary’s 60 vs. Utah State 58
- Nov 29, 2019 – Saint Mary’s 81 vs. Utah State 73
- Nov 19, 2018 – Utah State 80 vs. Saint Mary’s 63
