Utah State men’s basketball will take the court for the second time this season on Saturday, hosting Omaha for a matinee match in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. It will be the first half of an Aggie basketball/football weekend double-header as the USU gridiron squad will play later in the evening. Head Coach Ben Jacobson will aim to remain perfect in his first season as the Aggies’ hoops coach.
Here’s all of the necessary info ahead of the second game of the season for Utah State.
How to watch
- Tip-off: Nov. 7, 2026 at 2 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: 1 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.
Projected Starters
Utah State (1-0, 0-0 Pac-12)
- G – Dallin Hall (6-4, Gr.) – 8.0 points | 3.0 rebounds | 7.0 assists
- G – Solomon Callaghan (6-2, Jr.) – 14.0 points | 5.0 rebounds | 3.0 assists
- G – Mason Falslev (6-4, Jr.) – 9.0 points | 9.0 rebounds | 3.0 assists
- F – Karson Templin (6-8, Sr.) – 6.0 points | 6.0 rebounds | 2.0 steals
- F – Will Hornseth (6-9, Jr.) – 16.0 points | 6.0 rebounds | 2.0 assists
Nebraska-Omaha (1-0, 0-0 MW)
- G – Grant Stubblefield (6-1, Sr.) – 11.0 points | 6.0 rebounds | 1.0 assists
- G – Cahmai Crosby (6-4, Sr.) – 21.0 points | 4.0 rebounds | 3.0 assists
- G – Deke Thompson (6-5, So.) – 13.0 points | 3.0 rebounds | 4.0 assists
- F – Justin Bolis (6-8, Sr.) – 0.0 points | 1.0 rebounds | 0.0 assists
- C – Isaac Ondekane (6-8, Gr.) – 7.0 points | 7.0 rebounds | 1.0 blocks
Omaha Quick Scout
The Mavericks are in their sixth season with Chris Crutchfield as head coach, and most of the previous seasons have been average to below-average. In 2025-26, Omaha went 22-13, but are a combined 41-58 in all other seasons (including this year) and have finished outside the top 260 in KenPom every year except that ’25-26 campaign (when they finished 165 and were a 15-seed in the NCAA Tournament).
This year, Omaha started 271st in KenPom but were picked to finish fourth in the Summit League and even received one first-place vote. However, the first game didn’t provide a ton of confidence as the Mavericks struggled to pull away from an NAIA team, the Mid America Christian Evangels, winning by a final score of 73-65. Omaha were never really in danger of losing, holding as much as an 18-point lead in the second half. But with five minutes left, Omaha only led by nine points before taking full control and getting the lead large enough (the aforementioned 18-point margin) that they sent in the backup brigade to finish the game.
Omaha under Crutchfield has often struggled on defense, particularly with keeping teams from scoring in the paint. In each of the previous five seasons with Crutchfield at the helm, the Mavericks have ranked 269th or worse in opponent 2-point field goal percentage.
With some of the team’s tendencies noted, here’s a quick scout on each of Omaha’s top players:
Cahmai Crosby (#2)
- A volume 3-point shooter. Two years ago while playing JUCO ball at Kilgore College, he attempted more than eight triples per game. Last year at North Texas, 72 of his 85 field goal attempts were 3-pointers. Crosby led Omaha in scoring for the season opener with 21 points, though 15 of those came on 3-point attempts. He made four outside shots and was also fouled on another 3-pointer and made each free throw. He’s a high-energy player, especially on offense, and will run all over the half-court to find a good place for a catch-and-shoot three.
Isaac Ondekane (#24)
- Big threat in the post, with an emphasis on big. Ondekane’s listed weight is 250 pounds, and he uses that size well. He displaces defenders with his body to create high-quality shot attempts inside the arc. In the 2024-25 season (he missed 2025-26 with an ankle injury), Ondekane shot 58.1% from the field, with the vast majority of his scoring attempts coming on post-ups.
Deke Thompson (#21)
- A confident scorer with a variety of shots in his bag, Thompson was the second-leading scorer for Ohama. Took six 3-point attempts (making two), several of them as a movement shooter, catching passes after going around screens on the perimeter. Thompson also drove to the basket numerous times, though he struggled to hit his close-range shots. He made just 1 of 3 attempts inside the arc. And while he drew several fouls and had eight free-throw attempts, he went just 5-for-8 from the line. Thompson’s four assists in game one are a bit deceptive in terms of his capability as a playmaker from his small forward spot in the lineup. Most of those assists were routine passes to obviously open shooters. But he did have one nifty dish to a cutter for an open layup.
Grant Stubblefield (#3)
- This is Stubblefield’s fourth season at Omaha, and he’s been a steady presence throughout his whole career. He’s not a volume scorer, only reaching double-digit points in only 17 of his 81 appearances, but Stubblefield is an efficient player. He’s especially capable in the pick-and-roll, often catching defenders sleeping as he works his way to the rim for two points. Stubblefield isn’t particularly quick, but he’s strong and has a knack for making an unusually high number of low-percentage looks around the basket.
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
- Bron Roberts — OUT (Recovery from ACL Injury)
- Collin Mulholland — OUT (Undisclosed)
- Connor Turnbull — OUT (Right Foot)
- Jax Allen — OUT (Undisclosed)
The Aggies will be without four players on Saturday, and for the foreseeable future. Bron Roberts’ earlier possible return will be in February as he recovers from an ACL injury he suffered last season. Collin Mulholland has had multiple unrelated injuries throughout the fall, according to Jacobson, and Mulholland’s return is likely weeks away. Connor Turnbull is expected to be out 2-3 weeks and was seen with crutches and a medical boot on his right foot on Monday. Jax Allen’s situation is not injury-related, though the exact nature of his absence has not been disclosed by Utah State.
OMAHA
All but one of Omaha’s players appeared in its season-opener, with the lone exception being freshman forward Ethan Sheats.
3 Keys for Utah State
Take advantage of Omaha fatigue / Dominate the paint
Omaha will finish a game against BYU less than 20 hours before tipping off in the Spectrum. The Mavericks won’t have time to recover adequately. Meanwhile, the Aggies will have had four full days between games. Pushing the ball in transition and playing physical in the paint could turn this game into a quick rout. Or, at the very least, have it mirror what Utah State did to Idaho State, where a four-point game in the late first half turns into a nearly 40-point win by the final buzzer.
The Mavericks are already fairly weak in defending the paint. Last year they ranked 322nd in field goal percentage allowed at the rim (62.6%), and this year’s team didn’t exactly add high-level shot-blocking. Ondekane will play most of the center minutes, and he’s not a super vertical player, averaging just 0.4 blocks for his career.
Across three exhibitions and Monday’s season opener, Utah State has averaged 51.0 points in the paint. And more than half of the Aggies’ field goal attempts in those four games have been layups or dunks. There’s no reason for that trend to not continue, and for it to not be a great source of scoring once again.
Don’t wait to clean the glass
During the season opener and throughout the preseason exhibitions, Utah State has started slowly on the boards. Opposing teams have stacked offensive rebounds, and it’d probably be a good thing for the Aggies to avoid giving their foes multiple bites at the apple. Utah State has had an odd ability to prevent second-chance points (along with points off their own turnovers), but it’s better not to grant those opportunities in the first place.
Omaha hasn’t been that strong of an offensive rebounding team, but they usually shoot an above-average number of 3-pointers, and that can create chances for long rebounds. Utah State has struggled to chase down boards after missed threes and will need to be much better about that on Saturday.
Hit a few early threes
If there’s one thing Utah State hasn’t been good at on offense, it’s 3-point shooting. The Aggies have shot just 29.4% (25 of 85) between the exhibitions and the season opener. Given how Utah State has been elite at interior scoring, there’s not too much of a reason to fret about below-average 3-point shooting. But it’s usually a good thing to at least be capable of making teams stay honest.
Idaho State managed to frustrate the Aggie offense at times by packing the paint to the point where any interior scoring had to be done over two or even three players. The Bengals simply bet on the Aggies not burning them from the outside, and that gamble mostly paid off when USU went 1-for-9 from three in that first half. Utah State eventually broke Idaho State’s defense to simply score in the paint anyway, but it would make things easier if the Aggies managed to hit at least a few outside shots. It doesn’t have to be that many. But ideally more than just one make in nine attempts.
Computer Prediction Scores
- KenPom — Utah State win 86-63
- Haslametrics — Utah State win 87-67
- EvanMiya — Utah State win 89-62
