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Utah State To Play Florida In Orange Bowl Classic
The Aggies will take on what could be a top five team in December
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Utah State will look to build another tournament-worthy resume
Utah State will play Florida in the 2019 Orange Bowl Classic, according to reports Friday morning.
The Orange Bowl Classic is a one-day doubleheader which will take place at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida, on Saturday, December 21.
Florida State will take on South Florida in the other matchup.
Utah State enters the upcoming season fresh off a 28-win campaign and NCAA Tournament appearance under first-year head coach Craig Smith. The Aggies return the defending player of the year in Sam Merrill and defensive player of the year and freshman of the year in Neemias Queta, as well as most of last year’s squad.
Florida won 20 games a season ago, advancing to the NCAA Tournament’s second round. The Gators are pegged as high as the top five in many early preseason polls, as Mike White’s team will feature returners Keyontae Johnson, Noah Locke, and Andrew Nembhard, five-star freshman Scottie Lewis, and Virginia Tech grad transfer Kerry Blackshear.
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Eli Boettger is the lead basketball writer at Mountain West Wire. He’s covered Mountain West basketball since 2015 and his work has been featured on Bleacher Report, NBC Sports, SB Nation, Yahoo Sports, MSN, and other platforms. Boettger is a current USBWA member.