Column: View from the Stands; Time for the main event

And now it’s time for this season’s main event.

In this corner, we have the challenger, Utah State. In their first year in the Western Athletic Conference, the Aggies have compiled a 9-4 record in league play and are in hot contention for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. They defeated the favorite 59-53 on the road earlier this season.

And in this corner, we have the favorite, Nevada. The Wolf Pack are currently ranked No. 25 in the country, are riding an eight-game winning streak and have been picked to win the conference. With a 10-3 record in the WAC, a win in this game would all but clinch the regular season league title for the Pack.

Let’s get ready to rumble!

That’s kind of what it’s felt like in Logan this week, at least to the fans. The team started feeling that way with about five minutes left against Boise State Thursday night and almost blew the game.

But everyone’s into it now.

“It’s here and it’s a huge challenge,” head coach Stew Morrill said. “Obviously, (Nevada) is playing well. They’re the favorites to win the league. We’ll be ready to go and I’m sure the Spectrum will be rocking and rolling.”

Morrill said it is important to take a few moments and reflect on what’s going on.

“We have to enjoy it,” he said. “It’s amazing that we’ve put ourselves in this position. We shouldn’t fret about it. We should enjoy it. At this point of the season, there’s a lot to play for.”

One can nit-pick at details, but the best way to shut down Nevada is to shut down its star center Nick Fazekas. The Aggies held the big man to only 16 points on eight-for-21 shooting in their Jan. 24 win in Reno.

The key to shutting down Fazekas is to play physical.

Aggie Chaz Spicer said physical defense really helped the Aggies last time against the Pack.

“Everyone on the team knows what we have to do,” Aggie Chaz Spicer said. “We have a big challenge on our hands. They don’t like the physicalness. We have to do that once more.”

What the Aggies can’t do is assume that they will win at home just because they beat the same team on the road.

If one looks at the box score of that game compared to others the Wolf Pack have played, it becomes clear that that game was an aberration for Nevada.

In practically every category, it was far worse than its season averages.

Points per game: season average – 72.4; vs. USU – 53

Field goals: season – 45.3 percent; vs. USU – 33.8

3-pointers: season – 35.3 percent; vs. USU – 17.6

Free throws: season – 71 percent; vs. USU – 54.5

Rebounds: season – +4.5; vs. USU – minus-6

And these are just the stats for Nevada’s offense. It’s almost as bad on the defensive side too.

So either USU played awesome or Nevada played terrible in the first matchup. It was probably a little of both, which makes Saturday’s main event that much more intriguing.

Bryan Hinton is a senior majoring in print journalism.

Comments can be sent to

bhhinton@cc.usu.edu.