Utah State is about to play its first-ever game against Grand Canyon this Saturday. Although the programs have been in relatively close proximity, they have yet to meet in a regular season contest. They have met in an exhibition, back in 2012, which the Aggies won easily 76-44 in Logan. But Grand Canyon’s program has come a long way in the last 15 years. This meeting should be a much closer contest.
Here’s all of the necessary info ahead of this game for the Aggies.
How to watch
- Tip-off: Jan. 16, 2026 at 12:30 p.m. (Mountain Time)
- Location: Global Credit Union Arena (Phoenix, AZ)
- TV Broadcast: CBS Sports Network
- Radio Broadcast: KVNU (102.1 FM, 610 AM) / kvnutalk.com / KVNU mobile app
KVNU Aggie GameDay pregame show with Stockton Jewkes and J.D. Walker: 11:30 a.m.
KVNU Aggie Call: Immediately after Coach Jerrod Calhoun’s post-game comments
- Text (435) 554-1175 or call (435) 753-5868 during the pregame or postgame show to give your thoughts and reactions for the game.
Projected Starters
Utah State (15-1, 6-0 MW)
- G – Drake Allen (6-5, Sr.) – 6.6 points | 2.8 rebounds | 5.3 assists
- G – Mason Falslev (6-4, Jr.) – 15.5 points | 6.0 rebounds | 2.7 assists
- G – MJ Collins (6-4, Sr.) – 20.5 points | 2.5 rebounds | 1.6 assists
- F – Adlan Elamin (6-9, Fr.) – 5.4 points | 1.7 rebounds | 0.4 assists
- F – Zach Keller (6-10, Sr.) – 2.6 points | 1.8 rebounds | 0.4 assists
Grand Canyon (10-6, 3-2 MW)
- G – Brian Moore (6-3, Sr.) – 8.1 points | 2.4 rebounds | 2.3 assists
- G – Caleb Shaw (6-5, Sr.) – 8.5 points | 3.6 rebounds | 1.3 assists
- G – Jaden Henley (6-7, Sr.) – 17.2 points | 4.8 rebounds | 2.4 assists
- F – Nana Owusu-Anane (6-8, Sr.) – 9.3 points | 8.8 rebounds | 2.3 assists
- C – Efe Demirel (7-1, Fr.) – 7.8 points | 5.3 rebounds | 0.4 assists
Utah State and Grand Canyon Team Stat Ranks Preview (Jan. 16)
Stats and efficiency ratings via KenPom.com, all rankings are out of 365 teams.
| Stat | Utah State | Grand Canyon |
|---|---|---|
| NET Rank | 15th | 100 |
| Pace Rank | 95th | 222nd |
| Offensive Efficiency | 122.3 (22nd) | 108.4 (186th) |
| Defensive Efficiency | 99.4 (31st) | 99.9 (33rd) |
| 3-Point % | 37.2 (34th) | 29.8 (325th) |
| 3-Point Attempt Rate | 37.2 (235th) | 38.7 (197th) |
| Offensive Rebounding % | 36.9 (35th) | 32.8 (127th) |
| Defensive Rebounding % | 68.8 (187th) | 75.4 (8th) |
| Turnover % | 16.9 (162nd) | 17.5 (208th) |
| Opponent Turnover % | 22.3 (8th) | 18.7 (95th) |
Jerrod Calhoun met with media in the Estes Center this afternoon as they prepare for a quick turnaround for a Saturday game at Grand Canyon.Topics included the Lopes’ defense, Jaden Henley, and recent news stories like the transfer portal window change and gambling scandals. pic.twitter.com/t23tE1AdAB
— Jason Walker (@jwalker_sports) January 15, 2026
Availability Report
The following is drawn from the official availability reports posted by the Mountain West. Per-game stats, if applicable, are included in parenthesis.
UTAH STATE
GRAND CANYON
Utah State Keys to Victory
Disrupt Grand Canyon’s pick-and-roll offense
The Lopes are one of the most prolific pick-and-roll teams in the nation, running the classic ball screen action at the fifth-highest rate in the country. Leading the way in this play for GCU are guards Makaih Williams and Brian Moore but most crucially their 6-foot-7 wing Jaden Henley. Aggie fans, and many of the players, should be familiar with Henley as he played three games against USU last year while at UNLV. Henley had games of 19 points and 16 points against the Aggies, doing a lot of damage inside the paint and getting to the free throw line a lot (19 free throws in three games).
Grand Canyon boasts a lot of bulky bigs like Nana Owusu-Anane (6-foot-8, 240 pounds), Efe Demirel (7-foot, 240 pounds) and Wilhelm Breidenbach (6-foot-10, 235 pounds) which can make navigating around screens very difficult. The good news for Utah State is that so far this season they’ve proved to be very effective against the pick and roll. Synergy has the Aggies ranking 34th in points per possession allowed when opposing guards try to score out of the pick and roll. And there’s no one simple way USU has approached defending the play. In some lineups or situations, they’ve run drop coverage. Other times they’ve gone switch heavy. And Utah State has the personnel to do both of those things very effectively. It’ll just come down to doing it a lot more often in this game.
Thrive on quieting the crowd
While Grand Canyon will not be the toughest place Utah State plays at all year, with visits to Viejas and The Pit still to come, this will be the toughest so far. The Lopes rank 29th in KenPom’s home court advantage metric and their fans are stoked to have a ranked opponent in their venue for just the fourth time in program history. GCU’s fans say their venue is the home of the “Biggest Party in College Basketball” and it’ll be USU’s job to spoil the fun.
So far this season, Utah State has played fairly well away from home overall — Haslametrics ranks the Aggies 49th in away from home performance — though there have been mixed performances in true road games as opposed to neutral site games. The Aggies’ lone loss and worst game of the year came at South Florida, though they followed it up with a 26-point blowout. Their game at Fresno State was a bit shaky (at least on offense) but the last two road games at Air Force and at Boise State were masterclasses of dominance.
Bounce back on offense
Utah State had been averaging 92.0 points in Mountain West play before getting slowed by Nevada and scoring just 71 points, the lowest point total by the Aggies in more than a month. Having one less-than-stellar game on offense isn’t anything to be super-concerned about. Doing it again in a tough road game against the 33rd-ranked defense in the country could prove problematic. Utah State needs to get back to its offensive dominance. It doesn’t need another 90+ games (most likely), but getting into the high 70s or into the 80s should be enough if the Aggies’ defense is doing their job on the other side of the court.
Computer Prediction Scores
- KenPom — Utah State win 76-70
- Haslametrics — Utah State win 75-67
- EvanMiya — Utah State win 77-72
