USU MBB Preview: Air Force
AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. — Utah State Men’s Basketball (12-2, 1-0) hits the road for the first time in Mountain West Conference play this season tonight at Air Force (9-6, 0-2). It’s the third season in a row that the Aggies have had their MW road opener at Air Force and the fifth time since USU joined the conference.
“They’re playing good basketball right now,” head coach Ryan Odom said about Air Force on Monday. “They challenge you on every play.”
Odom expounded that he sees traditional Air Force strengths in their team this season including their ability to control the pace by using the shot clock and their desire for high-efficiency baskets on offense.
The Falcons return their impressive guard tandem from last season, Jake Heidbreder and Ethan Taylor, and continue their team effort on offense with five players averaging seven or more points per game.
Heidbreder has emerged as Air Force’s leading scorer, averaging 15.5 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. He’s also hit 40 3-pointers this season with an accuracy of 41.7%.
“He’s gotten better this year,” Odom said. “If you give him any type of space, you’re running a risk of it being a three.”
Taylor, on the other hand, is a true point guard leading the team with 50 assists this season, 3.3 assists per game, while recording 7.5 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.
“I really like their mix of players right now,” Odom said.
Additionally, like USU, the Falcon bench is highly productive. They score 22.9 points per game and are led by freshman forward Rytis Petraitis who has averaged 8.9 points per game while earning Mountain West Freshman of the Week honors for the last four weeks straight.
“He’s athletic enough to get to the basket,” Odom said about Petraitis. “He’s got physical tools on defense as well. He’s aggressive and can block shots. I’m impressed with him.”
Last time out, Petraitis put up 16 points in Air Force’s loss to Nevada.
Last season, the Aggies dropped their first Mountain West game at Air Force 49-47. It was a brutal shooting performance for USU who only made 32.7% of shots and just one 3-pointer on 19 attempts. However, Odom didn’t write off the loss as a bad shooting night.
“It was a bad energy night,” Odom said. “We were not energetic on either end.”
This time around, Odom said that they will bring the energy they need at Clune Arena which has proven to be a tough place to play this season with the Falcons winning seven of their last eight home games — their longest streak since 2010-11.
“We can’t accept anything less. We’ve got to be ready to go,” Odom said. “Veterans understand how hard it is to win here. It’s just the next game on our schedule so we gotta be excited to play.”
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. on Aggie Radio 92.3 FM and CBS Sports Network.
Featured image by Sam Warner from the Utah Tech game.