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Utah State remains Mountain West favorites with return of Neemias Queta

Washington v Utah State

COLUMBUS, OHIO - MARCH 22: Neemias Queta #23 of the Utah State Aggies reacts to their 61-78 loss to the Washington Huskies in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Nationwide Arena on March 22, 2019 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

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The Mountain West will still go through Utah State next year following Tuesday’s announcement that freshman big man Neemias Queta will return for his sophomore season.

One of the nation’s most underrated freshmen last season, the 6-foot-11 Queta received plenty of buzz at the NBA Draft Combine thanks to his emerging two-way abilities and measurables -- such as having the biggest hands at the combine.

In the end, the reigning Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year will return to school next season for an Aggies program that is only losing two seniors from an NCAA tournament team. Putting up 11.8 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game, Queta has a chance to play himself into lock first-round position with a strong season for Utah State as the program also returns Sam Merrill, the reigning conference player of the year.

The Mountain West hasn’t received a lot of buzz in recent seasons outside of Nevada, but last year saw Utah State rapidly rise into the national conversation. The Aggies will undoubtedly be one of the nation’s non power conference teams to watch during the 2019-20 season.