Men’s basketball continues road trip at Fresno State

“We’ve got our hands full with whoever we play, wherever we play,” USU head coach Stew Morrill said. “We are a very average basketball team that has to play very hard — on the road especially — who’s up against it every night out. All we can do is fight and claw and try to find a way.”

Tipoff between the Bulldogs and Aggies is slated for 8 p.m.

Despite Fresno’s record, Morrill and the Aggies won’t be overlooking the Bulldogs.

“They have basically been snake bit in close game after close game, much like San Jose State was last Saturday,” Morrill said. “Their record really doesn’t tell the story in terms of their chance to win games and they’re going to jump up and win some. They have had five road games and two home games. They’re going to definitely jump up and win some games, and they’ve been close as it is.”

USU held Fresno’s sophomore guard Kevin Olekaibe to 11 points in the Aggies’ 72-53 win in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum Jan. 5. Olekaibe still leads Fresno with 18.2 points per game.

Senior guard Jonathan Wills is the only other Bulldog to average double digit points with 10 per game. Wills scored a team-high 16 points in Fresno’s loss at USU.

USU led 34-27 against Fresno State at halftime and never looked back en route to its victory.

The Aggies are expecting a much different Bulldog team this time around.

“They are definitely playing better,” said senior forward Morgan Grim. “We have to come out and play just like any other game.”

–ty.d.hus@aggiemail.usu.edu