Utah St. @ North Texas preview

No. 16 Utah State looks to stay undefeated when it faces North Texas on Sunday in the 2019 Jersey Mike's Jamaica Classic in Montego Bay, Jamaica. The Aggies are coming off a tournament-opening win over LSU on Friday, while the Mean Green dropped their opener against Rhode Island, 60-47.

North Texas has had trouble scoring this season, averaging just 59.3 points per game, with sophomore guard Umoja Gibson the team's leading scorer at 12.8 points. Utah State has not had any problem with scoring, with its 80-point output in the win over LSU being the team's season low in points. Senior guard Sam Merrill leads five double-figure scorers with 18.5 points per game as well as dishing out a team-high five assists per contest. Junior forward Alphonso Anderson contributes 14 points a game off the bench, while 6-7 sophomore forward Justin Bean is averaging a double-double so far with 13.3 points and 11.2 rebounds per game.

TV: 6:30 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network

ABOUT UTAH STATE (6-0): After playing their first five games at home, the Aggies found out a lot about themselves in their win over LSU, topping a major conference school at a neutral site and overcoming a 19-point second-half deficit to do it. Utah State shot just 34.4 percent from the field in the first half but turned it around after the break, connecting on 56 percent of its shots, including 77.8 percent from 3-point range. The Aggies also turned it around on the defensive end of the floor, holding LSU to just 2-of-7 shooting from 3-point range in the second half after the Tigers had connected on 9-of-18 from beyond the arc in the first half.

ABOUT NORTH TEXAS (2-4): Turnovers have been a problem for the Mean Green this season, with coach Grant McCasland pushing his team to take better care of the ball heading into the Jamaica Classic. Unfortunately, those pleas fell on deaf ears, as North Texas committed 15 turnovers in the loss to Rhode Island, with the Rams scoring 20 of their 60 points off miscues, the third time this season an opponent has had that many points off turnovers against the Mean Green. Javion Hamlet had the most trouble, committing five turnovers - he has a team-high 24 on the season - but six players had at least one turnover in the game, with four players committing multiple miscues.

TIP-INS

1. North Texas F Deng Geu grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds in the loss to Rhode Island.

2. Utah State's bench outscored LSU's reserves 36-4 in their last game. The Aggies' bench has outscored the opposition's reserves in every game this season.

3. Anderson had a career-high 24 points in the Utah State victory over LSU.

PREDICTION: Utah State 88, North Texas 62