After a 2-0 start to the season, Utah State will play an in-state opponent for game three. Utah Tech comes to town for a third all-time matchup against the Aggies. USU won both of the previous contests, an 86-81 win in 2022 and a 92-62 win back in 2025. Utah State enters the game ranked 46th in KenPom (up from a preseason 53rd) with Utah Tech ranked 253rd. That makes the Trailblazers the toughest opponent for Utah State, according to the KenPom rankings, after facing Idaho State (340th) and Omaha (286th).
Here’s all of the necessary info ahead of the third game of the season for Utah State and first-year head coach Ben Jacobson.
How to watch
- Tip-off: Nov. 10, 2026 at 7 p.m. (Mountain Time)
- Location: Dee Glen Smith Spectrum (Logan, UT)
- TV Broadcast: YouTube (Pac-12 Conference channel)
- 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: 6 p.m.
KVNU Aggie Call: Immediately after Head Coach Ben Jacobson’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.
Video from Monday’s Utah State men’s basketball weekly press conference. Speakers were Head Coach Ben Jacobson and junior guard Solomon Callaghan. pic.twitter.com/3u2aW6dDw5
— Jason Walker (@jwalker_sports) November 10, 2026
Projected Starters
Utah State (2-0, 0-0 Pac-12)
- G – Dallin Hall (6-4, Gr.) – 8.5 points | 5.0 rebounds | 7.0 assists
- G – Solomon Callaghan (6-2, Jr.) – 15.0 points | 4.0 rebounds | 1.5 assists
- G – Mason Falslev (6-4, Jr.) – 15.5 points | 9.5 rebounds | 5.0 assists
- F – Karson Templin (6-8, Sr.) – 9.5 points | 4.5 rebounds | 2.0 steals
- F – Will Hornseth (6-9, Jr.) – 11.5 points | 5.0 rebounds | 2.0 assists
Utah Tech (1-1, 0-0 Big Sky)
- G – Mark Brown (6-0, Sr.) – 11.0 points | 2.0 rebounds | 3.0 assists
- G – Christian Gibson (6-5, Fr.) – 20.0 points | 4.0 rebounds | 2.5 assists
- G – Owen Mackay (6-5, Fr.) – 5.5 points | 2.0 rebounds | 1.5 assists
- G – Preston Vandermyde (6-5, Jr.) – 3.0 points | 0.0 rebounds | 0.5 assists
- F – Ethan Potter (6-8, Gr.) – 11.5 points | 7.5 rebounds | 1.5 assists
Utah Tech Quick Scout
The Trailblazers have been on the right and wrong end of blowouts to start their season. They lost 100-60 at New Mexico and then defeated a Grace 103-52. That doesn’t leave a lot of room to figure out what exactly Utah Tech is fully capable of. So far, one of the top things standing out on the scouting report is a high rate of 3-point shooting. In two games, Utah Tech has taken 60 threes, accounting for just under half of its field goal attempts. The Trailblazers have four players who, between them, have attempted more threes than Utah State as a team.
The emphasis on perimeter scoring is understandable given the overall lack of size in the frontcourt. Utah Tech does have five 6-foot-8 athletes and a 6-foot-11 center, but only starting forward Ethan Potter is a mainstay in the rotation. It makes Utah Tech a very guard-heavy team that will test the Aggies’ defense by throwing more speed at it.
While there is some benefit to having more speed on the court, it comes with the drawback of struggling to defend the paint. New Mexico shot nearly 70% on 2-pointers, and that was despite getting four blocks in that game. The Trailblazers struggled with interior defense last year as well, ranking 253rd in 2-point percentage defense and 326th in defensive rebounding percentage.
With some of the team’s tendencies noted, here’s a quick scout on each of Utah Tech’s top players:
Christian Gibson (#2)
- Gibson is a four-star recruit who ranked just outside the top 100 at both On3 (109) and 247 Sports (126). He’s a left-handed wing with good size at 6-foot-5, a solid build for a freshman at 190 pounds, and is a smooth athlete. Gibson shoots well from the outside, having made 40% (6 of 15) from distance in his first two games on high volume. One of the things he’s particularly dangerous at, though, is pinning defenders against his hip, then manipulating his way to the basket or a dangerous step-back midrange shot. Gibson has made 6 of 11 midrange shots this season.
Ethan Potter (#35)
- Potter plays the role of small-ball center quite well. He’s a great rebounder, averaging 7.8 boards last year and is on a similar pace early on this season at 7.5. This past year, Potter averaged 16.8 points, getting that scoring primarily through being a great roll/cut big and a solid post-up game. Potter isn’t an athletic finisher, but he’s savvy and has a really soft touch around the basket with right-handed layups or floaters.
Mark Brown (#1)
- Brown started out his career at Snow College, averaging 13.3 points and 4.3 assists as a sophomore before transferring to Valparaiso prior to last season. Things didn’t go as well as hoped for Brown as he averaged just 14 minutes and only 3.0 points, 1.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists on some really poor shooting splits (21.7/22.3/18.8). Brown is looking to turn a new leaf a little closer to his roots at Utah Tech. Brown has scored in double figures in both of the Trailblazers’ games, but in very different fashions each time. He went 5-for-16 against New Mexico, struggling to hit shots at any part of the court and ended up with 12 points. Against Grace, he was a much more efficient 2-for-5 and got to the free-throw line to put him at 10 points.
Availability/Injury Report
Official availability reports will not be available until Pac-12 play. For now, these are unofficial designations based on known information.
UTAH STATE
- Collin Mulholland — DOUBTFUL (Undisclosed)
- Connor Turnbull — OUT (Right Foot)
- Bron Roberts — OUT (Recovery from ACL Injury)
- Jax Allen — OUT FOR SEASON (Redshirt)
Utah State officially confirmed that freshman guard Jax Allen will utilize his redshirt this season, so he will not play barring some really crazy injury bug in the Aggies’ backcourt. The three centers who remain out are all working to return at various points this season. Connor Turnbull has spent the week wearing a boot on his foot and utilizing crutches or a knee scooter. He will be reevaluated on Monday as he works through an initial timeline of 2-3 weeks for his injury. Collin Mulholland is trending toward returning. He went through initial team warm-ups prior to the game against Omaha, but was not active for the game itself. Bron Roberts continues to be out as he recovers from his ACL injury suffered this past February.
UTAH TECH
3 Keys for Utah State
Don’t let Trailblazers get hot from three
Utah Tech hasn’t really lit it up from the outside yet this season, going 7-for-33 against New Mexico and a decent, but not elite, 10-for-27 against Grace. There’s no reason for Utah State to allow the Trailblazers to get more active than that from the outside. Allowing an above-average shooting day is the exact kind of thing that goes into a massive upset that could derail the Aggies’ early season and put a stain on their NCAA Tournament resume.
Keep Gibson under control
It’s unlikely that Utah State will hold Gibson to under 15 points. He’s a talented scorer and is going to make some difficult shots that the Aggies will try to shepherd him into. The key is to just keep him from having an outsized impact and/or putting Utah Tech on his back. Case in point, Gibson had 23 points on 10-of-17 shooting against New Mexico, and the Lobos hardly blinked. They still held Utah Tech to 36% shooting as a team and only 60 points. There isn’t a need to shut Gibson down; just make sure he’s not beating you by himself.
Dominate the paint (again)
Utah State’s strength of scoring in the paint is very apparent, with 63% of the team’s scoring coming on 2-pointers (10th-highest rate in the country) and shooting nearly 70% on those 2-point attempts. Utah Tech has an apparent weakness in paint defense and no true rim protector on the court for the vast majority of minutes. It’s a perfect time for the Aggies to keep doing what they do best.
Computer Prediction Scores
- KenPom — Utah State win 87-65
- Haslametrics — Utah State win 87-67
- EvanMiya — Utah State win 91-63
