USU hopes to rebound from recent losses
With only two games remaining before the Big West Conference tournament in Anaheim, Calif., the Utah State men’s basketball team is determined to get back on the winning track.
It will have its first chance to rebound as Cal State Northridge comes to town.
The game is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. because it will be televised on Utah’s Fox Sports Rocky Mountain and Fox Sports Net West 2.
But what’s been so different the last couple of games, where somewhat unexpected teams have defeated the Aggies?
They’re soft — at least according to Utah State Head Coach Stew Morrill.
“Winning’s not easy,” Morrill said after USU’s 52-51 loss against Idaho Saturday in the Spectrum. “You’ve got to beat the opponent and you’ve got to be tougher than them, and we’re really soft right now.”
Although Morrill said his team doesn’t necessarily like the description of itself, guard Cardell Butler agreed.
He said the fact Idaho was able to hold the rebounding advantage at halftime (16-9) showed which team was the
aggressor.
And being soft isn’t necessarily something Morrill feels he can control anymore.
“I’ve said as long as I’ve coached that the players take over in late February and March,” he said. “I say every year when we start practice that they have to decide what they want out of this thing; how they want to finish and what they want to do.
“But your leadership — or lack thereof — shows at this time of year.”
One Aggie in particular who feels he is a contributing factor toward leading the team is Toraino Johnson.
The senior said he is trying to the best of his ability to talk to his teammates and pump them up. It doesn’t seem to be enough though.
“For whatever reason, we’ve had a tendency to relax instead of just starting out the game playing hard,” he said. “We’ve got to get over that and start playing hard as soon as the ball’s tipped off on defense and offense.”
Johnson said whatever is wrong with the team right now needs to be fixed immediately, or it won’t have a chance in the next two games or the
tournament.
The Aggies stomped Cal State Northridge 59-44 in their first meeting on Jan. 2 in the BWC opener.
The Matadors (13-13) come into the game on a high note, winning their last three outings after dropping the three prior to that.
CSN is currently in sixth place, which if the Aggies maintain their third-place standing the teams could meet up in the first round of the BWC tournament.
Sophomore forward Ian Boylan leads the Matadors in scoring with 15.8 points per game, fourth in the league. Senior forward Curtis Slaughter is also averaging double figures with 13.8 points per game.
Senior forward Lionel Benjamin leads CSN in rebounding, pulling down 5.6 boards per contest.
“They are playing well,” Morrill said of the Matadors. “We have a chance to win 20-plus games if we take care of business and find a way to win a few more. We didn’t win 19 games being soft. We were just soft that one game, but I’m confident we’ll bounce back.”
Utah State will conclude the regular season Saturday against Pacific at home.
–juag@cc.usu.edu