Utah State aims to slow down the hottest team in the Mountain West
A mere three days after taking on one of the Mountain West's best defensive teams, the Aggies are welcoming arguably the league's best offensive squad to their home court.
Boise State (1-0 in the Mountain West, 10-4 overall) visits the Spectrum at 8 p.m. Tuesday riding a seven-game win streak while Utah State (1-1, 9-4) is looking to bounce back from a hard-fought 70-67 home loss to San Diego State last Saturday.
"We've got the best offensive team in the league coming in here," USU guard Chris Smith said. "We need to have a short memory and just do what we do best and get a win."
While USU is third in the Mountain West in scoring defense at 67.5 ppg, the Broncos are third in scoring offense at 79.0 ppg. Boise State also boasts the reigning MW Player of the Week in junior forward James Webb III, who averaged 25.5 points and 9.0 rebounds in BSU?s victories over UC Davis and Colorado State.
Webb pumped in 20 of his 28 points in the second half of Boise State?s 84-80 win over the Rams to help him earn POTW honors for the second time in three weeks.
?It?s hard to take him out of games, at any moment,? BSU head coach Leon Rice said of Webb III. ?He played 38 minutes, and I felt like I sat him for a long time. He is just doing a great job, making so many plays, everywhere. He rebounds the ball, he impacts the game defensively, he is a good passer and he is making shots and timely shots.
?He is rounding out into a terrific basketball player.?
Webb III leads Boise State in scoring (16.3 ppg) and rebounding (8.6 rpg) this year while making just over 50 percent of his shots.
It will likely be the responsibility of 6-foot-9, 220-pound junior forward Jalen Moore to limit the numbers of the 6-9, 202-pound Webb III Tuesday night.
"Jalen played really well at San Jose, but I didn?t think he had one of his better nights defensively against San Diego State,? USU head coach Tim Duryea said. ?Webb is a guy who is a challenge for him, but he is a guy that Jalen should be able to match up with and do well against because they are so similar in size, caliber of athlete, their ability to make 3s and put the ball on the floor.
?That is a matchup that we need to win if we are going to be successful. The four and five matchups are ones that we need to play even or win. If we do, I like our chances to win the game."
The Broncos also have three other double-digit scorers in senior swingman Anthony Drmic (14.9 ppg), junior forward Nick Duncan (11.2 ppg) and senior Mikey Thompson (10.5 ppg).
"Boise State is the most skilled offensive team in the league,? Duryea said. ?They have the same cast of characters over the past two to three years. They lose (Derrick) Marks, who was a really good player and presented a lot of problems for you, but then they got back (Anthony) Drmic, who is an equally good player, and presents different problems for you offensively.?
The Broncos, who haven't played a game on the road since an 81-71 victory at Portland on Dec. 5, historically haven't fared well in Logan, losing 18 of 19 games. However, that lone victory came last year when Rice's squad finally broke through with a 68-63 victory Feb. 3 at the Spectrum.
That win left the two rivals with a split of the 2014-15 season series after Utah State pulled off an unlikely 62-61 victory at Taco Bell Arena when former Aggie David Collette hit a 3-pointer as time expired in the game in Boise on Jan. 3.
A mere three days after taking on one of the Mountain West's best defensive teams, the Aggies are welcoming arguably the league's best offensive squad to their home court.
Boise State (1-0 in the Mountain West, 10-4 overall) visits the Spectrum at 8 p.m. Tuesday riding a seven-game win streak while Utah State (1-1, 9-4) is looking to bounce back from a hard-fought 70-67 home loss to San Diego State last Saturday.
"We've got the best offensive team in the league coming in here," USU guard Chris Smith said. "We need to have a short memory and just do what we do best and get a win."
While USU is third in the Mountain West in scoring defense at 67.5 ppg, the Broncos are third in scoring offense at 79.0 ppg. Boise State also boasts the reigning MW Player of the Week in junior forward James Webb III, who averaged 25.5 points and 9.0 rebounds in BSU?s victories over UC Davis and Colorado State.
Webb pumped in 20 of his 28 points in the second half of Boise State?s 84-80 win over the Rams to help him earn POTW honors for the second time in three weeks.
?It?s hard to take him out of games, at any moment,? BSU head coach Leon Rice said of Webb III. ?He played 38 minutes, and I felt like I sat him for a long time. He is just doing a great job, making so many plays, everywhere. He rebounds the ball, he impacts the game defensively, he is a good passer and he is making shots and timely shots.
?He is rounding out into a terrific basketball player.?
Webb III leads Boise State in scoring (16.3 ppg) and rebounding (8.6 rpg) this year while making just over 50 percent of his shots.
It will likely be the responsibility of 6-foot-9, 220-pound junior forward Jalen Moore to limit the numbers of the 6-9, 202-pound Webb III Tuesday night.
"Jalen played really well at San Jose, but I didn?t think he had one of his better nights defensively against San Diego State,? USU head coach Tim Duryea said. ?Webb is a guy who is a challenge for him, but he is a guy that Jalen should be able to match up with and do well against because they are so similar in size, caliber of athlete, their ability to make 3s and put the ball on the floor.
?That is a matchup that we need to win if we are going to be successful. The four and five matchups are ones that we need to play even or win. If we do, I like our chances to win the game."
The Broncos also have three other double-digit scorers in senior swingman Anthony Drmic (14.9 ppg), junior forward Nick Duncan (11.2 ppg) and senior Mikey Thompson (10.5 ppg).
"Boise State is the most skilled offensive team in the league,? Duryea said. ?They have the same cast of characters over the past two to three years. They lose (Derrick) Marks, who was a really good player and presented a lot of problems for you, but then they got back (Anthony) Drmic, who is an equally good player, and presents different problems for you offensively.?
The Broncos, who haven't played a game on the road since an 81-71 victory at Portland on Dec. 5, historically haven't fared well in Logan, losing 18 of 19 games. However, that lone victory came last year when Rice's squad finally broke through with a 68-63 victory Feb. 3 at the Spectrum.
That win left the two rivals with a split of the 2014-15 season series after Utah State pulled off an unlikely 62-61 victory at Taco Bell Arena when former Aggie David Collette hit a 3-pointer as time expired in the game in Boise on Jan. 3.
