After taking just its fourth loss of the season, Utah State is heading on the road again for a rematch of its biggest conference of the season. The Aggies defeated San Diego State 71-66 at home, rallying in the second half to down the Aztecs and overtake them for first place in the Mountain West standings. Utah State has remained in first place since that game with SDSU sitting in second. But now the first-place belt is on the line once again. A win for the Aggies would mean almost effectively eliminating the Aztecs from the title race while a loss would mean a tie atop the table with a week and a half left in the regular season.
Here’s all of the necessary info ahead of this marquee battle at the top the Mountain West.
How to watch
- Tip-off: Feb. 25, 2026 at 9 p.m. (Mountain Time)
- Location: Dee Glen Smith Spectrum (Logan, UT)
- TV Broadcast: FS1
- 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: 8 p.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 (23-4, 13-3 MW)
- G – Drake Allen (6-5, Sr.) – 7.0 points | 2.8 rebounds | 4.8 assists
- G – Mason Falslev (6-4, Jr.) – 16.1 points | 5.6 rebounds | 2.9 assists
- G – MJ Collins (6-4, Sr.) – 17.9 points | 2.2 rebounds | 1.6 assists
- F – Adlan Elamin (6-9, Fr.) – 6.9 points | 3.1 rebounds | 1.0 assists
- F – Zach Keller (6-10, Sr.) – 3.2 points | 1.9 rebounds | 0.4 assists
San Diego State (18-8, 12-4 MW)
- G – BJ Davis (6-1, Jr.) – 10.4 points | 3.2 rebounds | 2.3 assists
- G – Reese Dixon-Waters (6-5, Sr.) – 12.6 points | 3.6 rebounds | 1.4 assists
- G – Miles Byrd (6-7, Jr.) – 10.8 points | 4.4 rebounds | 2.7 assists
- F – Jeremiah Oden (6-8, Jr.) – 5.0 points | 2.6 rebounds | 0.4 assists
- F – Miles Heide (6-9, Jr.) – 5.7 points | 4.8 rebounds | 0.9 assists
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
SAN DIEGO STATE
Late time these two teams faced, the Aztecs were without two key players, Elzie Harrington and Magoon Gwath. Both should be available for this game and figure to make SDSU a better team than the Aggies beat back on Jan. 31.
Utah State Keys to Victory
Don’t allow SDSU to shut down the paint
In three of Utah State’s four losses, they’ve been unable to score in the paint. The Aggies’ three worst 2-point field goal percentage games were at South Florida, at Nevada and at Grand Canyon — all losses. Normally, making shots inside the paint is a strength given that the Aggies rank among the best in the nation for 2-point field goal percentage and points in the paint. The issue Utah State has faced in its poor interior shooting days is getting shots blocked (17 times across those three losses), and poor finishing under pressure even when not being blocked.
Where the Aggies could be in trouble is that arguably the best shot-blocker in the conference, Magoon Gwath, will be back in action. He may not play heavy minutes (he’s rarely played more than 20 this year and only played five against Colorado State), but could still have a highly impactful presence in the paint on defense.
Don’t take so long to adjust to pressure defense
Utah State committed 16 turnovers in the first roughly 30 minutes of the initial matchup with the Aztecs. In the final 10 minutes, the Aggies coughed the ball up just twice. That was crucial in the eventual rally, but it certainly would have been nice if they’d not spent a half-hour of game time figuring out a way to not place the ball in San Diego State’s hands.
Be at least decent at defensive rebounding
The Aggies obliterated SDSU on the boards in the first meeting, winning the battle on the glass 37-28. Do that again, along with some other improvements, and things would likely go incredibly well for USU. But that’s an unlikely encoure for the Aggies. San Diego State doesn’t not get out-rebounded like that often, espeically in conference play. And with Gwath back in action, the Aztecs will have more help.
The main key for Utah State will be to not allow San Diego State to completely reverse the trend on the glass completely. If SDSU wins the overall rebounding battle by a little, that’s not a huge issue. Where the Aggies have gotten themselves into trouble of late is in giving up lots of offensive rebounds and committing fouls on any kind of rebound. They just need to be physical on the boards without getting overphysical or overwhelmed. It worked out just fine last time, Utah State just needs to find a way to at least mostly repeat that same success.
Computer Prediction Scores
- KenPom — Utah State win 74-73
- Haslametrics — Utah State win 73-72
- EvanMiya — Utah State win 75-73
