After Duke disaster, Aggies move on to Missouri State
With its disaster at Duke in the rear-view mirror, Utah State tries to rebound Tuesday at Missouri State.
The game is part of the Mountain West-Missouri Valley Challenge and tips off at 6:05 p.m. MST.
The Aggies, who had opened the season with four straight wins, took a step backward in their 85-52 loss to the Blue Devils on Sunday at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Yes, Duke is the reigning national champion.
Yes, the Blue Devils are 6-1 with off-the-chart talent.
Utah State was not competitive, however, and fell hopelessly behind when Duke opened the second half with a 16-0 run and built a 54-27 lead.
"They got a couple of baskets and I thought we gave in a little mentally," Aggie coach Tim Duryea said. "The fact that it was a little tough for us on the [offensive] end, we kind of wilted at that point ? got soft there for a little while ? and the game got away from us."
Utah State shot only 29 percent in the second half and continued to struggle from long distance. The Aggies were only 3-for-12 from the three-point line, making the 30-for-99 for the season. Junior forward Jalen Moore is 3-for-18 on three-pointers. Sophomore guard Julion Pearre is 2-for-17.
"I thought we were selfish," Duryea said. "The ball was sticking. Too many individual agendas kind of tripped us up on the offensive end. When you over-dribble, when you stand, when you don't play the right way, then you're going to get low percentage shots and you are not going to make very many of them."
After losing so soundly at Duke, Utah State must bounce back against Missouri State or enter a seven-day break in the schedule on a two-game losing streak. The Aggies don't play again until Dec. 9, when they visit BYU.
"I told our guys in the locker room that I wasn't proud and happy about that performance," Duryea said. "? [But] we need to be ready to go on. We play a quality Missouri Valley team on their floor and we need to have a whole different mentality - offensively and defensively."
With its disaster at Duke in the rear-view mirror, Utah State tries to rebound Tuesday at Missouri State.
The game is part of the Mountain West-Missouri Valley Challenge and tips off at 6:05 p.m. MST.
The Aggies, who had opened the season with four straight wins, took a step backward in their 85-52 loss to the Blue Devils on Sunday at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Yes, Duke is the reigning national champion.
Yes, the Blue Devils are 6-1 with off-the-chart talent.
Utah State was not competitive, however, and fell hopelessly behind when Duke opened the second half with a 16-0 run and built a 54-27 lead.
"They got a couple of baskets and I thought we gave in a little mentally," Aggie coach Tim Duryea said. "The fact that it was a little tough for us on the [offensive] end, we kind of wilted at that point ? got soft there for a little while ? and the game got away from us."
Utah State shot only 29 percent in the second half and continued to struggle from long distance. The Aggies were only 3-for-12 from the three-point line, making the 30-for-99 for the season. Junior forward Jalen Moore is 3-for-18 on three-pointers. Sophomore guard Julion Pearre is 2-for-17.
"I thought we were selfish," Duryea said. "The ball was sticking. Too many individual agendas kind of tripped us up on the offensive end. When you over-dribble, when you stand, when you don't play the right way, then you're going to get low percentage shots and you are not going to make very many of them."
After losing so soundly at Duke, Utah State must bounce back against Missouri State or enter a seven-day break in the schedule on a two-game losing streak. The Aggies don't play again until Dec. 9, when they visit BYU.
"I told our guys in the locker room that I wasn't proud and happy about that performance," Duryea said. "? [But] we need to be ready to go on. We play a quality Missouri Valley team on their floor and we need to have a whole different mentality - offensively and defensively."
