Aggies to face Colorado State in MW tournament semifinals

Utah State Men’s Basketball defeated UNLV 70-58 on March 13 in the second round of the Mountain West Men’s Basketball Championships. The Aggies were fueled by strong performances from guards Ian Martinez and Mason Falslev, who had 17 and 15 points, respectively.

With their win, the team advances to take on the Colorado State Rams tonight at 10 p.m. MST. USU again gets the late game after playing UNLV at 9:30 p.m.

“What rules the world right now is TV and money. That’s what college athletics are about. So, I don’t know if it’s a TV deal or what it is, but you know, at the end of the day, we’ve got to play when we’re asked to play,” Utah State head coach Jerrod Calhoun said after the win over UNLV. “We’ve got to go on when TV dictates … But no, it’s not fair to anybody.”

Utah State will have a tough task in the late game, taking on a Colorado State team that has won eight straight games. Its last loss came at the hands of the Aggies on Feb. 11 inside the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.

The Rams are led by guard Nique Clifford, who is sure to keep their hands full all night. Clifford, who was named to the All-Mountain West First Team earlier this week, is averaging 18.6 points and 9.8 rebounds per game.

“I’ve told NBA guys, ‘You guys are absolutely crazy if you don’t take him in the first round.’ I think he’s that good,” Calhoun said.

Clifford had 25 points and 13 rebounds in the second-round matchup against Nevada, lifting his team to a 67-59 victory.

Utah State is 1-1 against Colorado State this season, winning 93-85 in the Feb. 11 contest in Logan before taking a 93-66 beat down on March 1 in Fort Collins. A rough week offensively for the Aggies ran into a red-hot CSU team, leading to the lopsided result.

Colorado State shot the lights out in their win over USU on March 1, shooting 67% from three and 58% overall. For comparison, CSU is shooting 48% from the field and 36% from three on the year.

The game will largely hinge on the performance from Clifford for both sides. In Colorado State’s nine losses, Clifford has scored under 20 points in eight of those nine games. The lone exception was the Rams loss to Utah State, where he had 24 points.

Conversely, that means the Rams are 16-1 when Clifford has over 20 points. Whether or not Clifford can get going and scoring will be a big deciding factor in the game.

For Utah State, it’s just the opposite. The Aggies have been fueled all year by overall team performances, relying on team depth and complete performances from several starters to win them games.

The win over the Runnin’ Rebels saw the production from Falslev and Martinez, but some of the depth performances were lacking.

“That’s kind of who we are. Tucker Anderson carried us for a while. Dexter Akanno just didn’t have it tonight. He was one of seven — had a lot of lot of open looks. Deyton Albury wasn’t at his best,” Calhoun said after the win over UNLV. “We need two out of our five starters to step up for tomorrow because coach [Niko] Medved’s group is playing really well.”

For Colorado State, making Clifford a focus and main contributor will be a key part of their potential victory. For Utah State, the game will be all about containing Clifford and getting a rounded performance from multiple players.

The game will tip off at 10 p.m. Mountain on CBS Sports, with the winner advancing to the championship game on Saturday at 3 p.m. Mountain to take on the winner of Boise State versus New Mexico.