Aggies gear up for NAIA Western-Montana Bulldogs
The Utah State Aggies (22-3, 12-1 WAC) will step away from conference play this week. Their first opponent is the Montana-Western Bulldogs (19-7) from the NAIA Frontier Conference. Some may question why Morrill would schedule a non-Division I team in February, but due to scheduling issues, the game benefits the Aggies more than some may think.
“As I look back on when we scheduled this Montana Western game I remember thinking that I have never had back-to-back, one-game weeks this late in the season,” Morrill said. “That is what we had going when we scheduled our bracketbuster game and it just so happened that it was our week in league play to only have one game the following week, and I just didn’t want that. Honestly, it is really difficult to find a non-league game in the middle of February.”
The Aggies could have opted for more days of practice than to have a game against a non-Division I school, but felt playing an extra game would be the better choice.
“If I am a player I would much rather have games than just more practice time, and we took that into consideration as a staff,” Morrill said. “Our team knows the value of practice, but this late in the season we would much rather have our guys in a game situation over additional practices. That’s how this situation came to be and how it happened.”
The Aggies could easily overlook the Bulldogs and focus on their upcoming Bracketbuster against the No. 23 St. Mary’s Gaels, but Montana-Western has the Aggies’ full attention.
“If you look at Montana-Western, they are 19-7 and they are playing for a chance to win the Frontier Conference,” Morrill said. “They are shooting the ball well from 3-point range, they are defending teams well, and they are a good non-Division I team. It’s not like we are playing a team that has won only a few games, they are having a very good year and I know that they will play well.”
The Bulldogs are a familiar opponent for Utah State, as the Aggies hosted the Bulldogs four years ago in the Spectrum. Current seniors Tai Wesley, Matt Formisano, Tyler Newbold and Pooh Williams all played as freshman against the Bulldogs back in 2007, but it was Williams who made the most of his outing, as he started the game and finished with eight points in 21 minutes of play. Unfortunately for the Aggies, the Bulldog roster has completely changed.
Junior guard Brandon Brown is leading the Bulldogs in offense with an impressive 19.9 points per game, and the Aggie front-court will have a sizable challenge in defending him.
“(Brandon) Brown is Montana-Western’s (Mickey) McConnell- or (Jimmer) Fredette-style player,” Morrill said. “Watching Brown on tape I can see that he is a Division I-caliber player, there is not much doubt about that when you watch him play. He is averaging 20 points a game, his athleticism and quickness make him very capable.”
The Bulldogs are averaging about 76 points per game and have a similar offense to St. Mary’s. The Aggies will get a chance to see how they will react to a high-powered offense.
“As we prepare for these two teams, there are similar preparation things that we are doing to prepare for their outside shooting,” Morrill said. “Obviously they aren’t the same team and there is a real difference in personnel, but there are still some similarities between the two. Hopefully we will get a little preparation by playing Montana Western that will help lead us into our game on Saturday.”
Tip-off against the Bulldogs is slated for Feb. 16 at 7 p.m. in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
–ty.d.hus@aggiemail.usu.edu