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Utah State basketball begins race for Mountain West men’s title Wednesday against UNLV

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Brigham Young Cougars forward Yoeli Childs (23) defended by Utah State Aggies center Neemias Queta (23) and Utah State Aggies guard Sam Merrill (5) as BYU hosts Utah State, NCAA basketball in Provo on Wednesday Dec. 5, 2018.

  | Dec. 31, 2019, 8:28 p.m.
| Updated: 9:58 p.m.

Now the real work begins.

The Utah State men’s basketball team embarks on the most meaningful stretch of the 2019-20 season Wednesday as it continues Mountain West play against University of Nevada, Las Vegas, at the Thomas & Mack Center.

While the Aggies have played — and won — two conference games already this season, the majority of their contests have been against non-conference opponents. Now USU has 16 straight games in the MWC, which it was predicted to win before the season started.

The Aggies are in the midst of a three-game winning streak after losing a close game to Brigham Young University. Since then, they managed an overtime win over South Florida, eked out a victory against Florida, and demolished Eastern Oregon.

UNLV, meanwhile, won its only conference game of the season in breathtaking fashion, pulling out a double-overtime victory over Fresno State. The Rebels, however, are only 6-8 overall on the season. But they are itching to play the Aggies.

UTAH STATE AT UNLV


When • Wednesday, 9 p.m.

TV • CBSSN

“It’s a huge game for us,” UNLV’s Bryce Hamilton told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “We’re going to be ready and prepared, so we’ll be looking forward to playing.”

Aggies coach Craig Smith said after the Eastern Oregon game that he felt his players “handled their business” during non-conference play. He also seemed eager start playing MWC games again.

“Now we get back to league play, it’s a great time of year, it’s an exciting time of year and we’re going to have to play well to win at UNLV,” Smith said.

The Aggies are coming off a game in which they scored 100 points for the first time this season and also broke a school record with 36 assists.

But while it seems like USU is firing on all cylinders, it is still not whole. After playing just four games, Neemias Queta re-injured his knee against Florida and did not play against Eastern Oregon. Smith said the injury was “nothing serious,” but it is unclear whether Queta will be available against UNLV.

The Aggies (13-2) have won four of the last five games against UNLV in recent years, including three in a row. Historically, though, it’s the Rebels that have taken 32 of the 40 games against Utah State.