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Amid high expectations, No. 17 Utah State opens season against Montana State

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah State Aggies center Neemias Queta (23) controls the ball, as Weber State Wildcats forward Michal Kozak (11) defends, in basketball action in the Beehive Classic, between against the Utah State Aggies and Weber State Wildcats, a the Vivint Smart Home Arena, Saturday December 8, 2018.

Come Tuesday, the Utah State men’s basketball team will have to start living up to the hype.

Even a game as mundane as the Aggies’ opener against Montana State, a team they’ve beaten 78 times in 118 meetings, will carry a little extra pressure as USU tries to live up to its billing as the No. 17 team in the nation according to a preseason poll by the Associated Press. They are also listed as No. 19 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.

Coach Craig Smith said the rankings are nothing more than a sign of respect.

“One thing polls do tell you is the level of respect you’ve earned,” he said. “Last year, we hadn’t earned it, and this year we had.”

Last year, Smith’s first with USU, the Aggies got very little recognition. They weren’t even expected to finish in the top half of the Mountain West Conference. Fast-forward a year, and USU is the unanimous pick to defend its conference championship.

MWC play doesn’t start until Dec. 2, against San Jose State. The eight games, minimum, prior to that will not just determine if the Aggies rise or fall in the rankings, they will set the tone for the season. Get off to a bad start, and it will be difficult to recover. Get off to a strong start, as the Aggies did last season when they went 10-3 in the preseason, and they’ll be in good position to make a run for another MWC title.

“Last year’s over. We are in this year and we are in this moment," Smith said. "Last year was great. Hopefully you can pull back on those experiences and keep getting better, but at the same time, this is a new team and we have to go earn all that stuff like a championship team does.”

Last year, Sam Merrill scored a then-career-high 37 points in Utah State’s 101-71 season-opening win against Montana State. That was roughly a third of the Aggies’ total points for the game and came down to a little over a point per minute the guard was on the court — which was twice as long as almost any of his teammates.

The game could have been an indication that USU would be putting the Merrill show on repeat, and that stopping the junior would lead to the Aggies’ undoing. It later became clear that Merrill was just affording his teammates the luxury of easing into the season by shouldering the offensive load early on.

With four starters returning, Merrill won’t have to lighten the burden on his teammates as much this season. He is still expected to be one of the best players in the country, however. On Monday, the 6-foot-5, 205-pound senior was one of 50 men’s basketball players named to the Naismith Trophy watch list. He is also an AP honorable mention All-American and a Sporting News second-team preseason All-American.

Montana State will be steered by first-year coach Danny Sprinkle. The Bobcats feature 10 new players, four of whom scored in double digits in their exhibition win over Yellowstone Christian. The only returning players who logged more than 10 minutes against USU last season are Harald Frey, Devin Kirby and Ladan Ricketts.

Considering their own history, though, the Aggies should know better than to take the Bobcats lightly. The question is, can they handle the glare of the spotlight?

“Pressure is a privilege we embrace,” Smith said. “No one has higher expectations than we have for our program.”

UTAH STATE VS. MONTANA STATE

At Smith Spectrum, Logan

Tipoff • Tuesday, 8 p.m. MST

Records • USU (0-0), Montana St. (0-0)

Last meeting • Utah State, 101-71 (Nov. 6, 2018)

About the Aggies • AP has them ranked No. 17 to start the season. ... Sam Merrill was named to the Naismith Trophy watch list Monday. ... Center Neemias Queta, the MWC Defensive POY, is out with a knee sprain suffered while playing internationally for Portugal.

About the Bobcats • Finished fourth in the Big Sky Conference in 2018-19. ... Have a new head coach in Danny Sprinkles, a former Montana State player. ... Were led by four new players, all of whom scored in double digits, in their exhibition opener.