This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Logan • Utah State announced its 2016-17 men's basketball schedule Wednesday, which includes 18 Mountain West Conference games and in-state battles with BYU, Weber State and Utah Valley.

The Aggies will play nine opponents which reached postseason tournaments last year, including a visit to UC Irvine in their season opener on Nov. 11.

Utah State faces BYU on Nov. 30 at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City. The games at Utah Valley and against Weber State are on Dec. 10 and 21, respectively.

As part of the Mountain West-Missouri Valley Challenge, the Aggies play host to Indiana State on Dec. 3. Last season, USU was one of six MWC teams to prevail in the head-to-head series with a 69-68 victory at Missouri State.

Also during the non-conference portion of the schedule, Utah State will participate in the Cancun Challenge. Home games against the New Jersey Institute of Technology (Nov. 14) and Idaho State (Nov. 19) precede a trip to Mexico, where the Aggies will play Purdue on Nov. 22 and Texas Tech or Auburn on Nov. 23.

The Aggies, 16-15 overall and 7-11 in the Mountain West last year, open the conference season at home against Boise State on Dec. 28. After a New Year's Eve game at Air Force, they return home for games against New Mexico (Jan. 4) and UNLV (Jan. 7).

All of Utah State's first three Mountain West home games will be played while its students are still on semester break.

"As always, the Mountain West schedule will be very challenging, no matter what order you play the games," coach Tim Duryea said. "… We are looking forward to a very competitive, wide-open league - similar to last year - with a lot of quality teams from top to bottom."

Utah State will play every Mountain West team home-and-home, with the exception of Fresno State and San Jose State. They host defending conference tournament champion Fresno on Jan. 28. They visit San Jose on Feb. 22.

Utah State returns four letter-winners from last season, including senior wing Jalen Moore, senior point guard Shane Rector, guard Julion Pearre and sophomore forward Quinn Taylor.

Ten new players have been added to the roster, including highly regarded freshman guard Koby McEwen from Wasatch Academy. Utah State's 2016-17 basketball schedule:

Nov. 4: Southern Virginia (exhibition)

Nov. 11: at UC Irvine

Nov. 14: New Jersey Institute of Technology

Nov. 19: Idaho State

Nov. 22: vs. Purdue in Cancun

Nov. 23: Texas Tech or Auburn in Cancun

Nov. 30: vs. BYU in Salt Lake City

Dec. 3: Indiana State

Dec. 10: at Utah Valley

Dec. 17: vs. Great Falls

Dec. 19: Weber State

Dec. 21: New Orleans

Dec. 28: Boise State

Dec. 31: at Air Force

Jan. 4: New Mexico

Jan. 7: UNLV

Jan. 11: at Wyoming

Jan. 14: at San Diego State

Jan. 21: Colorado State

Jan. 25: at New Mexico

Jan. 28: Fresno State

Feb. 1: Nevada

Feb. 4: at Boise State

Feb. 8: at Colorado State

Feb. 11: Wyoming

Feb. 15: San Diego State

Feb. 18: at Nevada

Feb. 22: at San Jose State

Feb. 25: Air Force

Mar. 1: at UNLV

Mar. 8-11: at Mountain West Conference tournament in Las Vegas