SAN JOSE, Calif. - The San José State men's basketball team plays host to No. 25 ranked Utah State on Wednesday night in an ESPN2 televised conference clash.
SAN JOSE STATE SPARTANS (3-5, 0-0 MW)
PPG: 66.4 | FG%: 39.5 | 3FG%: 25.7 | FT%: 65.6
Notes: The Spartans enter Mountain West Conference play coming off a pair of Pac-12 road losses. SJSU is 2-2 at home this season and will be the host in five of its next seven games. Guard Seneca Knight is averaging a team-high 11.8 points per game with guard Richard Washington just behind at 10.1. The Spartans have shot 40 percent or better in all three wins and shot under 40 percent in all five losses.
#25 UTAH STATE AGGIES (7-1, 0-0 MW)
PPG: 81.4 | FG%: 46.8 | 3FG%: 36.5 | FT%: 76.8
Series: SJSU trails, 22-62 (14-21 at home)
Last: SJSU lost both games vs. Utah State last year
Notes: Utah State opened the season with seven straight wins before falling at Saint Mary's on Friday, 81-73. Guard Sam Merrill, who is averaging a team-high 17.4 points per game, had 23 points in the loss to the Gaels. The Aggies have been playing without center Neemias Queta, who has missed all eight games thus far with an injury.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
TV - ESPN2 with Roxy Bernstein and Richie Schueler
Stream - espn.com/watch with a cable login
Radio - Justin Allegri on the call through TuneIn.com and the TuneIn app. Search TuneIn for "San Jose St. Basketball".
ZACH ATTACK
- A constant in the Spartans' last five games has been the play of reserve guard Zach Chappell.
- Chappell posted a season-high 17 points, including 3-of-3 shooting from deep, in a loss to Portland State on Nov. 23.
- Chappell tallied 14 points in a win over Simpson on Nov. 17, going 5-of-7 from the field including a pair of three-pointers.
- The Spartans are shooting just 25.7 percent from three on the season but Chappell is shooting 42.1 percent from deep.
SPARTANS STYMIE GRAMBLING STATE
- Grambling State entered the game on Nov. 20 with the nation's No. 1 scoring offense, averaging 114 points over its first three games.
- The Spartans held the Tigers 38 points under their average in an 83-76 win at the Provident Credit Union Event Center.
- Grambling State was 1-of-10 shooting on three-pointers.
BALANCED EFFORT IN WIN VS. SIMPSON
- The Spartans had 13 different players score in an 85-60 win over Simpson on Nov. 17.
- Guard Zach Chappell came off the bench to score a season-high 14 points, including a pair of three-pointers.
- Guard Seneca Knight was 6-of-8 shooting for 15 points.
- Forward Craig LeCesne added 13 points in 19 minutes.
- Forward Ralph Agee posted 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting.
- Freshman walk-on Harminder Dhaliwal made his collegiate debut and had two points and two rebounds in six minutes.
SPARTANS STUN HOFSTRA IN SEASON-OPENER
- San José State opened the 2019-20 season with a bang, defeating Hofstra on the road, 79-71, on Nov. 6.
- Hofstra won 27 games last year, SJSU lost 27 games.
- In his Spartan debut, JC transfer and former Wake Forest guard, Richard Washington, posted a team-high 23 points off the bench on 8-of-13 shooting. He scored 12 of his 23 points in the final four minutes, including a stretch of three straight three-pointers to put the game away.
- Senior forward Craig LeCesne had his first career double-double with a career-high 19 points plus 11 rebounds.
- It was SJSU's first win in a road opener since 2010-11 when the Spartans topped Eastern Washington, 67-60.
- The Spartans snapped a 21-game road losing streak dating back to the 2017-18 campaign.
- SJSU won on the East Coast for the first time since 2001-02, when the Spartans defeated Fairleigh Dickinson at the BCA Tournament hosted by NC State in Raleigh, N.C.
LOTS OF STARTING EXPERIENCE BACK
- The Spartans return seven players who started at least one game a season ago.
- Guard Seneca Knight is the most experienced, as the sophomore started 17 games, including the final 12, of his rookie season.
- Point guard Brae Ivey was just behind Knight, as the former junior college transfer started 16 games last season.
- Forward Craig LeCesne and guard Zach Chappell both started 15 games last year.
- Forward Christian Anigwe, guard Isaiah Nichols and walk-on guard Trey Smith each started one game.
SIX NEW FACES FOR 2019-20
San José State head coach Jean Prioleau will have the help of six newcomers on the roster in 2019-20.
- The Spartans have three new junior college transfers in Richard Washington (Tallahassee CC), Eduardo Lane (Marshalltown CC) and Ralph Agee (East LA College). Washington started his collegiate career at Wake Forest, where he played eight games as a freshman before an injury caused him to miss the entire 2017-18 season.
- Another Wake Forest transfer will join the Spartans on the floor this season, as center Samuel Japhet-Mathias will be eligible after a redshirt season last year. The former four-star recruit appeared in 17 games off the bench at Wake Forest as a freshman in 2016-17. He posted six points and four rebounds at No. 17 Xavier.
- Prioleau added two freshmen this season in guard Omari Moore and walk-on center Harminder Dhaliwal.
FOUR WINS FOLLOWED BY A TITLE
- The Spartans are hoping to duplicate the success of the 1995-96 squad. SJSU won the Big West Conference tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament a year after going 4-23 during the 1994-95 season.
- The Spartans went 4-27 last season.
SAN JOSE STATE TV SCHEDULE
- San José State will play 10 games on TV this season, including three at home.
- SJSU hosts an ESPN networks game this year for the first time since 2010-11, when either ESPN2 or ESPNU will carry the SJSU tip against Utah State on Dec. 4. SJSU will also be on ESPN2 or ESPNU when visiting Utah State on Feb. 26.
- San José State will have four non-conference games on TV, all against Pac-12 competition. The Spartans will be on CBS Sports Network when hosting Stanford at the Provident Credit Union Event Center on Dec. 14. SJSU will battle both UCLA and Arizona on Pac-12 Networks and meet Oregon State on FS1 for a neutral site matchup in Las Vegas.
- The Spartans will also have four Mountain West contests on AT&T SportsNet this season - Jan. 15 at UNLV, Jan. 21 at New Mexico, Feb. 8 at Nevada and Feb. 29 vs. UNLV.
