One team has won three in a row, the other has lost three straight.
However, the team that has dropped a trio of games is the favorite, according to wagering lines. Winning on the road is never easy, and the Aggies have proven tough to beat in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum when it comes to men?s basketball.
Utah State will be playing its third game in seven days tonight, hosting New Mexico in another late tip. The contest is scheduled to begin at 9:05 and will be televised .
?There?s nothing but good teams in this league,? Aggie head coach Stew Morrill said after practice Monday. ?That?s what you get when you enter the Mountain West. Every game?s a challenge, every team?s good.?
USU (12-7, 2-5 MW) is coming off a gut-wrenching loss against then-No. 7 San Diego State, 74-69 in overtime. The Aztecs moved up to No. 5 in the polls on Monday. The Aggies had a four-point lead with four-an-a-half minutes to play in regulation.
?We?ve got to keep fighting,? Morrill said. ?We?ve got to try and find a way to dare to win a game down the stretch. Three games we haven?t found a way in league. That?s really disappointing. We?ve competed for the most part, especially in those three games. We knew this was going to be a tough stretch. We?ll get ourselves ready.?
Those three close setbacks have come by a combined 10 points.
The coach liked how his team practiced on Monday and said they were in ?good spirits.?
?The main thing is that we don?t have any hangover from the other night; we don?t have any broken spirit,? Morrill said. ?We can?t do anything about that one. We can?t do anything about the ones that slipped away. We have to go play and have some energy and go compete, and I think we will.
?And then, when the game?s close, let?s make a few plays and go ahead and win it, because that?s something we haven?t quite done, but we?re plenty capable of. ... I think we?ll play hard.?
Aggie guard/forward Spencer Butterfield had similar thoughts.
?We?ve just got to pull together,? said Butterfield, who led the team with 19 points against San Diego State, including a 3-pointer to force overtime. ?We have two choices. You can lay down and give up or keep fighting. The good thing about this team is we keep fighting. We?re going to keep fighting the rest of this season. We?re going to bounce back even though it was a tough loss.?
Taking a Top 10 team to overtime has given the Aggies confidence.
?I think it shows we can compete with anybody in this league,? Butterfield said. ?We?ve had a couple of games that haven?t went our way. I feel like those games are going to start going our way if we just keep battling and working hard. We can compete in this league.?
?Challenging the seventh team in the nation like we did is a big improvement,? said Aggie forward Jalen Moore, who scored a career-high 16 points against the Aztecs. ?... We can?t think about the loss too much, we?ve got to come out Tuesday ready to play.?
It?s been a while since New Mexico (15-4, 6-1) visited Logan, well before the Spectrum was built. The Lobos last ventured to Cache Valley in 1962.
The Lobos come to town fresh off a 68-66 win at Colorado State on Saturday. They have won eight of their last nine games.
?They return a bunch of players off a great team last year,? Morrill said.
New Mexico went 29-6 a year ago.
There is a bit of a mystery to the Lobos as 7-footer Alex Kirk did not play at CSU on Saturday and was wearing a walking boot. The preseason MW first-teamer had started the previous 18 games for New Mexico, averaging 14.0 points and a team-best 8.9 rebounds a game.
?They still went to Colorado State and won (without Kirk),? Morrill said. ?That gives you an idea of their talent level. They look a little different when he?s not out there. If he?s out there, they?re extremely big. When he?s not out there, they?re still really good.?
The Lobos are led by Preseason Player of the Year Kendall Williams. The guard averages 18.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game. Forward Cameron Bairstow leads the team in scoring with 20.3 ppg.
The Aggies got some good news Monday when forward Kyle Davis was able to practice. He has missed two games after dislocating his right kneecap at Boise State. Davis leads USU in rebounding with 8.6 per game.
?We?ll see how he warms up; limited at best,? Morrill said when asked about Davis? status. ?It?s encouraging that he?s trying to get out there. ... From everything I?ve heard, it is pretty dang painful when you dislocate a kneecap. It takes a little while. We?re looking forward to getting him back. It might not be for a little bit still.?
However, the team that has dropped a trio of games is the favorite, according to wagering lines. Winning on the road is never easy, and the Aggies have proven tough to beat in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum when it comes to men?s basketball.
Utah State will be playing its third game in seven days tonight, hosting New Mexico in another late tip. The contest is scheduled to begin at 9:05 and will be televised .
?There?s nothing but good teams in this league,? Aggie head coach Stew Morrill said after practice Monday. ?That?s what you get when you enter the Mountain West. Every game?s a challenge, every team?s good.?
USU (12-7, 2-5 MW) is coming off a gut-wrenching loss against then-No. 7 San Diego State, 74-69 in overtime. The Aztecs moved up to No. 5 in the polls on Monday. The Aggies had a four-point lead with four-an-a-half minutes to play in regulation.
?We?ve got to keep fighting,? Morrill said. ?We?ve got to try and find a way to dare to win a game down the stretch. Three games we haven?t found a way in league. That?s really disappointing. We?ve competed for the most part, especially in those three games. We knew this was going to be a tough stretch. We?ll get ourselves ready.?
Those three close setbacks have come by a combined 10 points.
The coach liked how his team practiced on Monday and said they were in ?good spirits.?
?The main thing is that we don?t have any hangover from the other night; we don?t have any broken spirit,? Morrill said. ?We can?t do anything about that one. We can?t do anything about the ones that slipped away. We have to go play and have some energy and go compete, and I think we will.
?And then, when the game?s close, let?s make a few plays and go ahead and win it, because that?s something we haven?t quite done, but we?re plenty capable of. ... I think we?ll play hard.?
Aggie guard/forward Spencer Butterfield had similar thoughts.
?We?ve just got to pull together,? said Butterfield, who led the team with 19 points against San Diego State, including a 3-pointer to force overtime. ?We have two choices. You can lay down and give up or keep fighting. The good thing about this team is we keep fighting. We?re going to keep fighting the rest of this season. We?re going to bounce back even though it was a tough loss.?
Taking a Top 10 team to overtime has given the Aggies confidence.
?I think it shows we can compete with anybody in this league,? Butterfield said. ?We?ve had a couple of games that haven?t went our way. I feel like those games are going to start going our way if we just keep battling and working hard. We can compete in this league.?
?Challenging the seventh team in the nation like we did is a big improvement,? said Aggie forward Jalen Moore, who scored a career-high 16 points against the Aztecs. ?... We can?t think about the loss too much, we?ve got to come out Tuesday ready to play.?
It?s been a while since New Mexico (15-4, 6-1) visited Logan, well before the Spectrum was built. The Lobos last ventured to Cache Valley in 1962.
The Lobos come to town fresh off a 68-66 win at Colorado State on Saturday. They have won eight of their last nine games.
?They return a bunch of players off a great team last year,? Morrill said.
New Mexico went 29-6 a year ago.
There is a bit of a mystery to the Lobos as 7-footer Alex Kirk did not play at CSU on Saturday and was wearing a walking boot. The preseason MW first-teamer had started the previous 18 games for New Mexico, averaging 14.0 points and a team-best 8.9 rebounds a game.
?They still went to Colorado State and won (without Kirk),? Morrill said. ?That gives you an idea of their talent level. They look a little different when he?s not out there. If he?s out there, they?re extremely big. When he?s not out there, they?re still really good.?
The Lobos are led by Preseason Player of the Year Kendall Williams. The guard averages 18.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game. Forward Cameron Bairstow leads the team in scoring with 20.3 ppg.
The Aggies got some good news Monday when forward Kyle Davis was able to practice. He has missed two games after dislocating his right kneecap at Boise State. Davis leads USU in rebounding with 8.6 per game.
?We?ll see how he warms up; limited at best,? Morrill said when asked about Davis? status. ?It?s encouraging that he?s trying to get out there. ... From everything I?ve heard, it is pretty dang painful when you dislocate a kneecap. It takes a little while. We?re looking forward to getting him back. It might not be for a little bit still.?
