LOGAN — Since Utah State joined the Mountain West Conference in 2013, the Aggies have played against San Diego State eight times in men's basketball. The Aztecs have come out on top in all eight of those matchups, including a 74-55 win in San Diego back on Jan. 14.

"We have not beaten them on a neutral court, their court or our court," USU head coach Tim Duryea said. "We've come close a few times, and I've been telling our guys, eventually we're going to beat them. When that is, is kind of up to them."

San Diego State (14-10, 6-6 MWC) comes in on a bit of a hot streak. The Aztecs have won three of their last four games, including a 70-56 win over Nevada on Feb. 12 that knocked the Wolfpack out of first place.

"San Diego State obviously had a slow start to the league," Duryea said. "But they've been playing better. They've won three of their last four games. Sunday against Nevada they played extremely well and played extremely hard defensively. They're not much different than all the other San Diego State teams. They're long, they're athletic, they're very versatile defensively."

USU (11-13, 5-8 MWC) is on a little streak of its own as the Aggies have won four straight games at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, including a dramatic 81-74 win over Wyoming on Saturday night. Jalen Moore led the Aggies with 23 points in the win and became just the 10th USU player to record more than 1,500 points and 600 rebounds in his career.

The matchup to watch will be the young freshman duo of Koby McEwen and Sam Merrill against the backcourt of San Diego State. The Aztec guards, Trey Kell and Jeremy Hemsely, might regard themselves as the best in the league. Kell and Hemsely both average 14.1 points per game, but it is their pressure that Duryea is worried about.

"They see the fact that we start two freshmen guards, and I think they'll pressure us and attack us in the backcourt," Duryea said. "I think our guys learned a lot from playing them the first time because right from the get-go, they attacked us hard.

"They attacked Sam and Koby really hard, and Kell and Hemsley both played well. I think our guys have gotten better since then. They've learned a lot and they're a little more battle-tested. I'm looking forward to seeing how they handle that tomorrow night."

Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum in Logan.

Rector still day-to-day

USU senior guard Shane Rector is still day-to-day after injuring his right wrist going for a dunk against Nevada on Feb. 1.

"We're just waiting on the results of one test," Duryea said. "Shane did a lot more in practice yesterday than he had the previous few days he'd been out. Hopefully, there are no setbacks today after doing more yesterday. If there aren't any setbacks, I anticipate him being available tomorrow night."

Rector is averaging 9.9 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.

McEwen still leading MWC freshman in scoring

USU true freshman point guard Koby McEwen is still leading all Mountain West Conference freshmen in scoring at 14.9 points per game. It is also the most by a true freshman in USU history.

However, McEwen is looking for a little redepmtion as he was held to just seven points on 3-of-8 shooting, including 0-for-2 from beyond the 3-point line against SDSU on Jan. 14. Kyle McDonald is sports fan who loves the Chicago Cubs. He is a communication major at UVU and will graduate in the spring of 2017. Follow him on Twitter at @kylesportsbias

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