LOGAN ? BYU has been waiting and preparing for Utah State for nearly a week since beating Weber State last Saturday.
The Aggies, on the other hand, had only a matter of hours to get ready for the Cougars, who are 6-2 and have won three straight games. Tonight's 7 p.m. match-up with the Cougars will be the Aggies' third game in six days, and the first of the three games was played in Hawaii.
"We knew these two games were going to be that way right before the holidays and coming back from a tough (road) stretch," Utah State coach Stew Morrill said.
The Aggies lost 69-59 at Hawaii in their Western Athletic Conference opener last Saturday after shooting 21 percent in the second half, and Tuesday against Oral Roberts, the Aggies let a 18-point lead slip away before David Pak hit two foul shots with 4.4 seconds left to pick up the 65-64 win.
"We need to come out (against BYU) with some energy or we're not going to be in very good shape," Morrill said. " . . . I'm sure glad we're going into that game with a win instead of a loss."
The Aggies (5-3) have won three straight games over the Cougars, including two last year ? 71-57 (Logan), 84-62 (Provo).
BYU leads the all-time series between the two schools, 133-89, but the Aggies hold a 57-51 advantage in games played in Logan. "I enjoy playing in a hostile environment where the fans really care about the outcome of the game," BYU coach Dave Rose said. "It's a good shooting gym. It's not a hard place to play. It's an easy place to play, it's just a hard place to win."
The game will be televised on KJZZ-TV.
"They (the Cougars) come in here with a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of energy. They feel good about where they are at," Morrill said. "They're playing well, playing a lot of guys, running the ball up the floor and playing good defense."
BYU's Austin Ainge, who has started just one game this year, combined for 36 points against the Aggies in the two losses, while Utah State's Nate Harris scored a career-high 26 points and pulled down 11 rebounds in the win of the Cougars in Provo.
"He's developed into an unbelievable player," Rose said. "He's very effective around the basket and he's a good free throw shooter. It will be a real challenge for our guys to try and guard Nate."
Jaycee Carroll combined for 34 points in the two wins over the Cougars.
Four of the five Cougar starters have started all eight games, while Brock Reichner has started seven. Six-foot-11-inch freshman Trent Plaisted leads the Cougars in points and rebounds with 14.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, respectively. Jimmy Balderson added 10.3 points and 3.8 boards, while Fernando Malaman scores 8.6 and Reichner adds 8.4.
Utah State's Cass Matheus, 6-foot-10, will be a good match-up with Plaisted. Matheus is averaging 10.8 point and 5.9 rebounds.
"We need four or five guys to have some really good performances," Rose said. "There will be some good match-ups in this game."
The Cougars have scored 80 points or more in four times and those came in four of the last six games. They notched a season-high 97 in a win over Lamar University in late November.
As the team, the Cougars are averaging 77.9 points a game and allowing 67.1. They are shooting 48.6 percent from the field and 39 percent from the three-point line.
The Aggies are scoring 71.4 points, while allowing 64.1. They are shooting 50.8 percent from the field and 38.9 percent from the three-point line.
"What will determine the outcome of this game is how good we are defensively because they execute their game plan so well," Rose said. "We can't expect them to make a lot of mistakes."
PETERSON'S GONE COLD: Since hitting 7 of 9 shots (6 of 7 from the three-point line), Utah State guard Durrall Peterson is 4 of 20 from the field, including 0 for 11 from behind the arc.
PAK-ING A PUNCH: Pak scored a season-high 16 points and recorded a career-high three steals in the win over Oral Roberts. It was the first time this year and sixth time in his career that he has scored in double figures.
REBOUNDING: The Aggies gave up 43 rebounds (21 offensive) in the win over Oral Roberts. It was the most rebounds allowed since UCLA pulled down 47 against Utah State in the 2001 NCAA Tournament.
KING TUTT: ORU's Ken Tutt poured in 29 on the Aggies, the most since Irvine's Jerry Green dropped 31 on the Aggies in a 67-66 Irvine win in Logan in 2002.
NO LONGER NO. 1: One week ago the Aggies were ranked No. 1 in the nation in field-goal percentage, but fell to seventh this week after shooting just 35.7 percent against Hawaii.
ORU held the Aggies to 43.1 percent from the field Tuesday, which was the second straight time the Aggies shot below 50 percent. Previously, the Aggies shot over 50 percent in four straight games.
Florida leads the nation at 54.4 percent.
The Aggies, on the other hand, had only a matter of hours to get ready for the Cougars, who are 6-2 and have won three straight games. Tonight's 7 p.m. match-up with the Cougars will be the Aggies' third game in six days, and the first of the three games was played in Hawaii.
"We knew these two games were going to be that way right before the holidays and coming back from a tough (road) stretch," Utah State coach Stew Morrill said.
The Aggies lost 69-59 at Hawaii in their Western Athletic Conference opener last Saturday after shooting 21 percent in the second half, and Tuesday against Oral Roberts, the Aggies let a 18-point lead slip away before David Pak hit two foul shots with 4.4 seconds left to pick up the 65-64 win.
"We need to come out (against BYU) with some energy or we're not going to be in very good shape," Morrill said. " . . . I'm sure glad we're going into that game with a win instead of a loss."
The Aggies (5-3) have won three straight games over the Cougars, including two last year ? 71-57 (Logan), 84-62 (Provo).
BYU leads the all-time series between the two schools, 133-89, but the Aggies hold a 57-51 advantage in games played in Logan. "I enjoy playing in a hostile environment where the fans really care about the outcome of the game," BYU coach Dave Rose said. "It's a good shooting gym. It's not a hard place to play. It's an easy place to play, it's just a hard place to win."
The game will be televised on KJZZ-TV.
"They (the Cougars) come in here with a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of energy. They feel good about where they are at," Morrill said. "They're playing well, playing a lot of guys, running the ball up the floor and playing good defense."
BYU's Austin Ainge, who has started just one game this year, combined for 36 points against the Aggies in the two losses, while Utah State's Nate Harris scored a career-high 26 points and pulled down 11 rebounds in the win of the Cougars in Provo.
"He's developed into an unbelievable player," Rose said. "He's very effective around the basket and he's a good free throw shooter. It will be a real challenge for our guys to try and guard Nate."
Jaycee Carroll combined for 34 points in the two wins over the Cougars.
Four of the five Cougar starters have started all eight games, while Brock Reichner has started seven. Six-foot-11-inch freshman Trent Plaisted leads the Cougars in points and rebounds with 14.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, respectively. Jimmy Balderson added 10.3 points and 3.8 boards, while Fernando Malaman scores 8.6 and Reichner adds 8.4.
Utah State's Cass Matheus, 6-foot-10, will be a good match-up with Plaisted. Matheus is averaging 10.8 point and 5.9 rebounds.
"We need four or five guys to have some really good performances," Rose said. "There will be some good match-ups in this game."
The Cougars have scored 80 points or more in four times and those came in four of the last six games. They notched a season-high 97 in a win over Lamar University in late November.
As the team, the Cougars are averaging 77.9 points a game and allowing 67.1. They are shooting 48.6 percent from the field and 39 percent from the three-point line.
The Aggies are scoring 71.4 points, while allowing 64.1. They are shooting 50.8 percent from the field and 38.9 percent from the three-point line.
"What will determine the outcome of this game is how good we are defensively because they execute their game plan so well," Rose said. "We can't expect them to make a lot of mistakes."
PETERSON'S GONE COLD: Since hitting 7 of 9 shots (6 of 7 from the three-point line), Utah State guard Durrall Peterson is 4 of 20 from the field, including 0 for 11 from behind the arc.
PAK-ING A PUNCH: Pak scored a season-high 16 points and recorded a career-high three steals in the win over Oral Roberts. It was the first time this year and sixth time in his career that he has scored in double figures.
REBOUNDING: The Aggies gave up 43 rebounds (21 offensive) in the win over Oral Roberts. It was the most rebounds allowed since UCLA pulled down 47 against Utah State in the 2001 NCAA Tournament.
KING TUTT: ORU's Ken Tutt poured in 29 on the Aggies, the most since Irvine's Jerry Green dropped 31 on the Aggies in a 67-66 Irvine win in Logan in 2002.
NO LONGER NO. 1: One week ago the Aggies were ranked No. 1 in the nation in field-goal percentage, but fell to seventh this week after shooting just 35.7 percent against Hawaii.
ORU held the Aggies to 43.1 percent from the field Tuesday, which was the second straight time the Aggies shot below 50 percent. Previously, the Aggies shot over 50 percent in four straight games.
Florida leads the nation at 54.4 percent.
