High Profile College Basketball Analyst Honors Utah State’s Sam Merrill

LOGAN, Utah – NCAA college basketball correspondent Andy Katz unveiled his weekly Player and Team of the Week for “NCAA March Madness.”

Katz named Utah State guard Sam Merrill as his Player of the Week after his performance in the Mountain West Conference Tournament. Merrill sent the Aggies to their second consecutive NCAA Tournament after drilling the game-winning three-pointer with 2.6 seconds left to help Utah State defeat No. 5 San Diego State win back-to-back Conference Tournament titles.

Merrill finished with 27 points on 6-15 shooting from the three-point line.

It’s the first time since March 9, 2007 that Utah State beat a top-10 team and only the second time in school history that they knocked off a top-five team. Also, the Aggies are the first back-to-back conference tournament champions since New Mexico in 2013 and 2014.

🏆 Weekly Honors! 🏆@TheAndyKatz's Team & Player of the Week had plenty of #MarchMadness implications, with Sam Merrill helping Utah State clinch a bid, and Rutgers sweeping the week to boost its resume! 👏 pic.twitter.com/TR9Jey2iHC

— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 9, 2020

Merrill was named the tournament MVP for the second straight year, becoming the first player in school history to win back-to-back conference tournament MVP awards. The Bountiful, Utah native scored 20 points or more in all three games in the Mountain West Tournament leading the team to victories over New Mexico, Wyoming and San Diego State.