Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose State men’s basketball will face a familiar opponent this Wednesday as they take on Utah State for the second time this month. Wednesday’s game will be played in Logan, Utah, starting at 7:00 pm PT. Justin Allegri will have the call on the TuneIn app and fans can watch the game on the Mountain West Network.

Here’s what you need to know about Wednesday’s game.

Game No. 20
San Jose State (3-16, 0-7) at Utah State (15-5, 5-2)
Wednesday, January 30, 7:00 pm PT
Dee Glen Smith Spectrum
Logan, Utah

Live Stats
Fans can view live stats of all SJSU men’s basketball games, home and away, by accessing the “Live Stats” feature at www.sjsuspartans.com. Click on the link on the men’s basketball schedule page to follow the action.

TuneIn
Check out the video below for a quick tutorial on how to access the Spartans radio call on TuneIn.

What Would a Win Mean?
SJSU’s second win in the last three tries against USU. It would also put an end to the Spartans’ 10-game losing skid and give them their first win in conference play in 2019.

How About Them Newcomers?
The Spartans have played nine first-year players this season, including regular starters Michael Steadman, Zach Chappell, Craig LeCesne and Brae Ivey. The newcomers are accounting for 67.2% of the Spartans’ offense (835-1241).

Steadman alone is accounting for nearly 20% of the team’s offense with 246 points.

Baumann the Boss
Sophomore Noah Baumann is shooting lights out from beyond the arc this season, so good in fact that he leads the Mountain West in 3-point percentage at 49.0%. Baumann also ranks in the top-10 in the MW in 3-pointers per game (2.5).

In the loss to USU, Baumann had one of the most impressive performances of his career as he scored a career-high 29 points and tied the school record with seven 3-pointers (7-of-10). He also set career highs in 3-point attempts and field goal attempts.

Baumann holds the first and third highest-scoring performances by a Spartan this season with 29 vs. USU and 23 vs. Northern Arizona. The sophomore is averaging 10.4 points in conference play, second-most on the team (Steadman).

Baumann has hit at least one 3-point basket in 17 straight games this season, tying Devante Wilson in the 2013-14 season for the most consecutive 3-pointers made in the last 10 seasons.

Last season as a freshmen, Baumann finished the year 40-for-87 (.460) from the 3-point range. He has already eclipsed those numbers with 11 regular season games to go (47-96, .490).

Chastain Taking Over
Junior center Ashtin Chastain has been tasked to fill in the gap in the starting lineup with senior Oumar Barry, who has been sidelined with an injury. Chastain has started the last two games in his stead and is averaging six points and 8.5 rebounds in those starts.

Chastain scored a season-best seven points in the first start at Wyoming and followed up with with a career-high 13 rebounds in a season-high 39 minutes vs. Air Force.

Ch-Ch-Changes
Spartans head coach Jean Prioleau made some changes to his staff in the offseason as he brought in former NC State All-American Julius Hodge as an assistant coach and promoted director of operations Ryan Cooper to assistant coach.

Steady Steadman
JUCO transfer Michael Steadman has made a big impact this season as a leader on and off the court. The 6’10” forward is averaging a team-high 12.9 points per game and ranks fifth in the MW with 8.6 rebounds per game. Steadman has seven double-doubles on the season, ranking third in the conference and has scored in double figures in 16-of-19 games. He also has nine games with double-digit rebounds.

Steadman is coming off his 7th double-double of the season in the double-overtime loss to Air Force. He put up a career-high 24 points and pulled down 12 rebounds.

Switch It Up
Prioleau has used eight different lineups throughout the season with no one player starting each time out. Barry had started the first 17 games before an injury kept him out of the lineup the last two games. Seven newcomers have made starts, including freshmen Seneca Knight, Zach Chappell and Trey Smith.

Boards Up
In the loss to Air Force, the Spartans pulled down double digit rebounds (Ashtin Chastain: 13, Michael Steadman: 12, Craig LeCesne: 12) becoming the first SJSU trio since 2008 to achieve the feat since December 28, 2008 when Chris Oakes (17), Time Pierce (15) and C.J. Webster (10) against William Jessup.

Few and Far Between
SJSU has committed the fewest fouls in the MW this season with 16.8 per game and ranks 40th nationally in the category.

Series History vs. Utah State
USU holds the series lead at 61-22 and won the first meeting of the season, 81-63, in San Jose. SJSU defeated USU 64-62 last season at home on February 28. It was the first win for the Spartans in the series since February 18, 2008.

The Aggies, who are led by first-year head coach Craig Smith, are one of the most well-rounded teams in the conference. They lead the MW in scoring defense and rank second in scoring offense. They also lead the conference in field goal percentage defense, free throw percentage, rebounding margin, blocked shots, assists and defensive rebounds.