Aggies looking for first win in Hawaii
This Saturday night, the Utah State men’s basketball team will look to do something it has never done before: win in Hawaii.
This will be the third meeting between the two teams in Hawaii. The last time the two teams played in Honolulu, the Rainbow Warriors came away with a 69-61 victory.
Over the past 14 years, Hawaii has enjoyed an Aggie-like home court advantage with a 121-31 record, including a 4-1 record in Western Athletic Conference games at home this season.
Utah State comes into the game following an 85-80 loss at Nevada on the road Monday night. This year Utah State has a 5-1 record following a loss.
The game will mark the second time the teams have played this year. Utah State won in Logan in January, 86-80. In that game, the Aggies were led by freshman forward Tai Wesley and senior All-American guard Jaycee Carroll, who combined for 53 points.
Wesley netted a career-high 27 points, including USU’s first eight of the game. His 27 points were the second most for a USU freshman in school history behind Carroll’s 28 in his freshman season of 2004-05.
Wesley was a whopping 13-of-16 at the free-throw line, both career highs. Carroll tallied 26 points, 13 in each half, and hit all four of his three-pointers while playing all 40 minutes of the game.
Carroll, who is coming off a 29-point game at Nevada, is currently leading the WAC with 21.8 points per game and is ranked first in free-throw shooting at 92.4 percent.
Playing on the road has not been easy this year for the Aggies as they have a 3-6 record. However, they have won three of their last five road games after starting the year with a 0-4 record on the road.
Hawaii is coming into the game with a 10-12 record and currently stands in fifth place with a 6-4 league record following an 88-68 loss at Nevada last weekend.
Hawaii is led by senior guard Matt Gibson, who is averaging 16.9 points and 5.2 assists per game, while senior forward Bobby Nash is averaging 16.2 points and 5.8 rebounds.
Senior guard Riley Luettgerodt is also scoring in double-figures as he is averaging 12.0 points per game. As a team, Hawaii is scoring 70.8 points and shooting 44.8 percent from the field, 34.3 percent from 3-point range and 73.8 percent from the free-throw line, while its opponents are scoring 71.1 points and shooting 46.9 percent from the field.
Due to the difference in time zones, the game against Hawaii will tip off at 10:05 p.m.
-sam.bryner@aggiemail.usu.edu