Struggling SDSU welcomes Aggies
Posting a 4-1 record, the men’s basketball team takes to the road to challenge South Dakota State Wednesday, Nov. 29.
This match will mark the fourth meeting between the two schools, with USU remaining undefeated in the previous three meetings. The last meeting with the Jackrabbits ended in a 72-51 Aggie win in Logan on Jan. 27.
The Jackrabbits are 1-6 on the season and come off a win over Arkansas State. Even though SDSU returns two starters and five lettermen from last year’s squad, they have struggled to contain opponents from scoring high, as they allowed 82.1 points against and 47 percent shooting from the field on average.
South Dakota State is led by sophomore guard Andy Kleinjan, who averages 12 points and 4.1 rebounds a game. Kleinjan was a well-known face to Aggie basketball fans last year since he sported a bright headband.
The Jackrabbits average 67 points per game as a team and shoot 47 percent from the field.
The Aggies are led by junior guard Jaycee Carroll, who averages 23.4 points per game and has a 58.2 percent shooting average from the field. In the last four games, Carroll has also posted at least 20 points. Add to that a 40.6 percent average from the free-throw range and 89.7 percent from the free-throw line and Carroll is a threat to any team on the floor.
Carroll is currently second in the Western Athletic Conference in field goal percentage and scoring, remaining overshadowed in both categories by Nevada’s Nick Fazekas.
Another strong contributor for the Aggies is junior forward Stephen DuCharme who averages 10 points and 4.4 rebounds a game. He is currently the most accurate shooter on the team, as he boasts a 87.5 percent field goal average and 66.7 percent from the free-throw line.
Starting all five games of the season, senior forward Chris Session has been a consistent asset on both defense and offense for the Aggies. He averages five rebounds per game and leads the team in steals with six. On the offensive end, Session is 72.2 percent from the field on average.
With the playing of this match, Head Coach Stew Morrill will tie Rod Tueller (1980-88) for fourth place on USU’s all-time games coached list. This will be Morrill’s 259th coached game with the Aggies, as he is in his ninth year at USU.Mor