GAME NOTES: The Utah State Aggies will begin their second season in the Mountain West Conference on Wednesday night, as they host the San Jose Spartans at Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.

The Spartans head to Utah following two embarrassing defeats, with the first being a home loss to Seattle University in which they netted just 38 points, and the other being an 82-53 thrashing at the hands of the Washington State Cougars last Sunday. San Jose State currently sits at 2-10 on the season.

The Aggies have gone 3-3 in the month of December, with their most recent contest being a 75-63 home victory over the Wayland Baptist Jackrabbits on Saturday night. The win bumped Utah State's overall record to 7-5.

Utah State and San Jose State have met a total of 74 times on the hardwood, with the Aggies leading the all-time series, 53-21. Utah State won its 14th consecutive game over the Spartans last season in a 75-58 victory in San Jose.

In a game when San Jose State was short-handed due to five players being suspended by head coach Dave Wojick (which included the team's top four scorers) for violating team rules, the Spartans managed to net just 53 points and connect on only 33.3 percent of their field goal attempts, which included a poor 3-of-17 showing from 3-point range. Darryl Gaynor II (24 points, five assists), and Brandon Mitchell (12 points, seven rebounds) were the top contributors for San Jose State. Defensively, the Spartans allowed the Cougars to connect on 46.3 percent of their tries from the field, and were outrebounded by Washington State, 45-33.

Jalen Moore (17 points, nine rebounds) was one of four Aggies to net double figures in their victory over Wayland Baptist. The other three were David Collette (14 points), reserve JoJo McGlaston (12 points), and reserve Sean Harris (10 points, eight rebounds). Utah State shot an impressive 47.3 percent from the field and made 88.9 percent of its free throws. On defense, the Aggies held the Jackrabbits to a shooting percentage of .373, which included a woeful 21.1 percent effort 3-point range. Utah State's reserves outscored Wayland Baptist's by a mark of 23-9.

The Spartans' top scorers this season are Rashad Muhammad (12.1 ppg), Jordan Baker (10.6 ppg), and Frank Rogers (10.4 ppg). Rogers is also the team's best rebounder with an average of 6.1 rpg. Offensively, the Spartans have only been able to muster up 57.2 ppg (last in the Mountain West Conference), and connect on just 39.0 percent of their field goal attempts (next-to-last). It hasn't been any better at the defensive end for San Jose State, as the team is letting opponents score on 42.8 percent of their field goal attempts, including a 38.2 percent showing from beyond the arc. As a result, foes are netting 67.2 ppg. All of those marks rank San Jose State last in the MWC.

Moore is the top scorer for Utah State this season with 15.3 ppg, a mark that also makes him the fourth-best scorer in the MWC. Collette, the second-best scorer for Utah State at 14.6 ppg, ranks sixth in the MWC. The other Aggies who are averaging double digits include Chris Smith (11.1 ppg), and Darius Perkins (10.3 ppg). Moore is also Utah State's top rebounder with 7.2 rpg, the fourth-best average in the MWC. The Aggies are currently scoring 67.2 ppg and allowing opponents to net 65.7 ppg, which places them slightly ahead in terms of scoring margin (+1.5). The Aggies are shooting an impressive 71.0 percent from the free-throw line (second in the MWC). Utah State has done a good job with perimeter defense, allowing teams to convert just 26.9 percent of their 3-point tries (second in the MWC). The Aggies are however, last in the league in rebounding margin (-8.8).

San Jose State has been playing very poorly this season, and it has lost 14 straight games against the Aggies. Expect Moore to lead the Aggies to yet another victory over the Spartans.