After suffering a seven-point road loss to North Texas, Memphis has a quick turnaround for its next matchup on Saturday against Utah State. The game will mark the final non-conference contest for both teams, and the Tigers will look to improve to 6-7 in non-conference play.
The Aggies enter the game with a 21-3 record, and they haven’t lost a game since losing at home to UNLV on January 20. That was the second straight loss for Utah State after losing to Grand Canyon on the road.
The only loss that Jerrod Calhoun’s team suffered in non-conference play was to USF in Tampa. The Aggies have won six games in a row, and they received 15 votes in the most recent Associated Press poll.
As a team, Utah State averages 84.1 points per game, and it shoots 51.2 percent from the field, 36.6 percent from deep and 70.8 percent from the free-throw line. Only two players average double-digit points, but both average more than 16 points per game.
Vanderbilt transfer MJ Collins Jr. leads the team, averaging 18.3 points per game and shooting 39.2 percent from deep, while junior Mason Falslev averages 16.1 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. Senior Drake Allen rounds out the starting backcourt, and while he only averages 6.8 points per game, he dishes out five assists per game and turns it over 2.3 times per contest.
As a team, the Aggies average 11.1 turnovers per game, but they score 19.7 points off 14.6 turnovers.
In the frontcourt, Utah State doesn’t have a ton of size, but they’ve used freshman Adlan Elamin and senior Zach Keller in the starting lineup.
Elamin, a true freshman, averages 7.2 points and 3.2 rebounds per game, while Keller only averages 2.8 points and 1.7 rebounds. While he has started the last 15 games, Keller only averages 11.9 minutes per game, and Karson Templin grabs 4.5 rebounds per game off the bench.
Defensively, Utah State allows 68.9 points per game, and opposing teams shoot 41.2 percent from the field and 32.8 percent from deep. The Aggies average 35.8 rebounds per game, and they have a plus-4.5 rebounding margin.