Getting a breakthrough conference road win is still the quest.
Another opportunity presents itself this evening for the Utah State men?s basketball team at the Thomas & Mack Center. Of course it will be a big challenge to beat UNLV on its home court.
?What I see on film is a very athletic group that just presents so many problems with their athleticism,? Aggie head coach Stew Morrill said. ?Problems on the boards, problems trying to guard them. UNLV has always had very good athletes and this group is no exception to that.?
The Aggies (12-5, 2-3 Mountain West Conference) and Rebels (11-7, 2-3) are tied for eighth in the league standings. A victory tonight is important to both squads. Tipoff is set for 9:05, as the game is being televised.
?We need to keep a level head and stay focused,? Aggie guard TeNale Roland said. ?We haven?t won a road game yet in the Mountain West, but we just need to stay positive about every situation, learn from it and move on.?
The three MW road losses for the Aggies are by a combined 13 points.
USU left Logan Tuesday morning for Sin City. The flight from Salt Lake City to Las Vegas was slightly delayed, but the team arrived in plenty of time to get settled in and start final preparations for the Rebels.
Picked to compete for the league title, UNLV has been on a roller coaster ride at times this season. The Rebels have already lost five home contests, including MW games to Air Force (75-68) and Nevada (74-71). They are coming off a road setback at No. 7 San Diego State, 63-52, last Saturday.
?I?m sure they feel they?ve been a little inconsistent as a lot of us probably feel right now,? Morrill said. ?They went on the road and got a great win at New Mexico.?
That 76-73 victory came just before the setback at San Diego State.
?We know they are real athletic,? Roland said. ?We know we need to rebound and come out and play hard. They have homecourt advantage over us, so we have to play hard.?
The Rebels have the leading rebounder in the country in 6-foot-8 Roscoe Smith. The junior forward is averaging 12.4 rebounds per game. Then there is 6-9 Khem Birch, who pulls down 9.6 boards an outing and blocks 3.61 shots a game, which ranks fourth nationally.
?They?ve got a premier player in (Bryce) Dejean Jones and other weapons to go with him,? Morrill said. ?We?re very familiar with (Kevin) Olekaibe from his days at Fresno State. They?re monsters on the boards. Their two big guys just pound the boards, and for some reason that?s been a bit of an issue with us lately. That?s a key stat.?
USU still ranks 10th in the country in rebound margin at plus 9.0. However, the Aggies may be without their best rebounder in Kyle Davis, who had his right knee cap pop out last Saturday. Davis, who averages 8.6 rpg, made the trip with the team, but is listed day-to-day.
?He?s our leading rebounder,? Morrill said of Davis. ?He?s got a nose for the ball. He does a good job on the boards. That won?t help matters if we don?t have him.?
When he left against the Broncos early in the second half and did not return, the Aggies really struggled and were outrebounded by a season-worst 12.
The Rebels don?t shoot a lot of 3-pointers, with the exception of Olekaibe. He has made 43.
?Their strength is their athleticism,? Morrill said. ?They go by you because they?re quicker than you. They get into the lane. We?ve got to help.?
Dejean-Jones leads UNLV in scoring with 15.0 points per game. Smith (12.0), Birch (11.2) and Olekaibe (10.4) join him in double-digit scoring.
USU will need to focus on crashing the boards, playing team defense and continue to shoot the ball like it did against Boise State. The Aggies are second in the nation in 3-point percentage, making 42.4 percent of their long-range shots.
Sharing the ball has been another strength of this USU team as it ranks fifth nationally in assists per game at 17.9. Marcel Davis and Preston Medlin rank sixth and seventh, respectively, in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.41 and 3.38.
Jarred Shaw leads the Aggies in scoring, averaging 16.3 ppg, while also grabbing 7.8 rpg. Medlin (13.7) and Spencer Butterfield (13.6) also are scoring in double figures.
With some close and disappointing defeats on the road in the MW, what will it take to get that first conference road W?
?We just have to make less mistakes,? Roland said. ?Winning on the road is hard, any place you go to. We just got to play a little bit harder and dig in deeper. We need to make sure our defense is on edge.?
Roland has played well since conference play began, and the Aggies will need more of that from the senior, who has been coming off the bench. In MW games, Roland has averaged 8.0 points and 3.0 assists per game.
?My confidence is up and I?ve just been working hard in practice day in and day out,? Roland said. ?I?m trying to be a vocal leader on and off the court, and learning from my mistakes.?
The Aggies will need that this evening, along with the efforts of the rest of those who see action.
Another opportunity presents itself this evening for the Utah State men?s basketball team at the Thomas & Mack Center. Of course it will be a big challenge to beat UNLV on its home court.
?What I see on film is a very athletic group that just presents so many problems with their athleticism,? Aggie head coach Stew Morrill said. ?Problems on the boards, problems trying to guard them. UNLV has always had very good athletes and this group is no exception to that.?
The Aggies (12-5, 2-3 Mountain West Conference) and Rebels (11-7, 2-3) are tied for eighth in the league standings. A victory tonight is important to both squads. Tipoff is set for 9:05, as the game is being televised.
?We need to keep a level head and stay focused,? Aggie guard TeNale Roland said. ?We haven?t won a road game yet in the Mountain West, but we just need to stay positive about every situation, learn from it and move on.?
The three MW road losses for the Aggies are by a combined 13 points.
USU left Logan Tuesday morning for Sin City. The flight from Salt Lake City to Las Vegas was slightly delayed, but the team arrived in plenty of time to get settled in and start final preparations for the Rebels.
Picked to compete for the league title, UNLV has been on a roller coaster ride at times this season. The Rebels have already lost five home contests, including MW games to Air Force (75-68) and Nevada (74-71). They are coming off a road setback at No. 7 San Diego State, 63-52, last Saturday.
?I?m sure they feel they?ve been a little inconsistent as a lot of us probably feel right now,? Morrill said. ?They went on the road and got a great win at New Mexico.?
That 76-73 victory came just before the setback at San Diego State.
?We know they are real athletic,? Roland said. ?We know we need to rebound and come out and play hard. They have homecourt advantage over us, so we have to play hard.?
The Rebels have the leading rebounder in the country in 6-foot-8 Roscoe Smith. The junior forward is averaging 12.4 rebounds per game. Then there is 6-9 Khem Birch, who pulls down 9.6 boards an outing and blocks 3.61 shots a game, which ranks fourth nationally.
?They?ve got a premier player in (Bryce) Dejean Jones and other weapons to go with him,? Morrill said. ?We?re very familiar with (Kevin) Olekaibe from his days at Fresno State. They?re monsters on the boards. Their two big guys just pound the boards, and for some reason that?s been a bit of an issue with us lately. That?s a key stat.?
USU still ranks 10th in the country in rebound margin at plus 9.0. However, the Aggies may be without their best rebounder in Kyle Davis, who had his right knee cap pop out last Saturday. Davis, who averages 8.6 rpg, made the trip with the team, but is listed day-to-day.
?He?s our leading rebounder,? Morrill said of Davis. ?He?s got a nose for the ball. He does a good job on the boards. That won?t help matters if we don?t have him.?
When he left against the Broncos early in the second half and did not return, the Aggies really struggled and were outrebounded by a season-worst 12.
The Rebels don?t shoot a lot of 3-pointers, with the exception of Olekaibe. He has made 43.
?Their strength is their athleticism,? Morrill said. ?They go by you because they?re quicker than you. They get into the lane. We?ve got to help.?
Dejean-Jones leads UNLV in scoring with 15.0 points per game. Smith (12.0), Birch (11.2) and Olekaibe (10.4) join him in double-digit scoring.
USU will need to focus on crashing the boards, playing team defense and continue to shoot the ball like it did against Boise State. The Aggies are second in the nation in 3-point percentage, making 42.4 percent of their long-range shots.
Sharing the ball has been another strength of this USU team as it ranks fifth nationally in assists per game at 17.9. Marcel Davis and Preston Medlin rank sixth and seventh, respectively, in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.41 and 3.38.
Jarred Shaw leads the Aggies in scoring, averaging 16.3 ppg, while also grabbing 7.8 rpg. Medlin (13.7) and Spencer Butterfield (13.6) also are scoring in double figures.
With some close and disappointing defeats on the road in the MW, what will it take to get that first conference road W?
?We just have to make less mistakes,? Roland said. ?Winning on the road is hard, any place you go to. We just got to play a little bit harder and dig in deeper. We need to make sure our defense is on edge.?
Roland has played well since conference play began, and the Aggies will need more of that from the senior, who has been coming off the bench. In MW games, Roland has averaged 8.0 points and 3.0 assists per game.
?My confidence is up and I?ve just been working hard in practice day in and day out,? Roland said. ?I?m trying to be a vocal leader on and off the court, and learning from my mistakes.?
The Aggies will need that this evening, along with the efforts of the rest of those who see action.
