Aggies prepare for rivaly against BYU
The Utah State Aggies (1-0) haven’t made a trip to Provo and played at the Marriott Center for four years. In fact, no one on the roster has played in the Marriott Center with the exception of junior forward Morgan Grim, who played there while at Utah. That will all change on Wednesday night when the Aggies extend their oldest rivalry, taking on their in-state rival, the No. 23 Brigham Young Cougars (1-0).
Injuries have taken their toll on the Aggies and they are underdogs against the fast-paced Cougars, but that won’t stop Utah State from competing.
“We don’t need to go down there and lay down and be afraid,” Aggie head coach Stew Morrill said. “We’ve had good games with BYU for lots of years for the most part. Let’s get ready and let’s go play.”
BYU is led by All-American senior guard Jimmer Fredette, who averaged 22 points as a junior and led BYU to a first-round victory over the Florida Gators during the NCAA Tournament.
“He’s just a fabulous player,” Morrill said. “He makes plays for everybody. He makes plays for himself, he makes plays for his teammates, he’s so good with the ball, you have to honor him from 3-point range, he can go by you and he’s got a killer crossover move that nobody should be able to guard. It certainly starts with him in terms of your worries and your preparation, but they surround him with lots of good players.”
Last year senior guard Jackson Emery averaged 12.5 points per game and is the only player returning this season to have averaged double digits. The Cougars started off the season with an 83-56 blow-out over the Fresno State Bulldogs, and junior forward Noah Hartsock scored 21 points and pulled down five rebounds. Junior guard Charles Abouo added 13 points.
“The list goes on and on with their talent level,” Morrill said. “One of the things about BYU is when you guard their plays or action they are just so good at making plays. You can’t simulate the individual talent level. They make plays at the end of their offense or even in the middle of the offense they make basketball plays. They are a very good passing team and they are very good defensively.”
The Cougars are famous for running the fast break, and the Aggies will need to find a way to tame the Cougars on the break.
“To have a chance you can’t just get blown out of the building with their fast break,” Morrill said. “If they get rolling on the break, if they get firing threes in and posting you up and scoring at will; game over. That’s a concern, trying to get matched up in transition. That’s nothing new when you play BYU. It’s always a concern.”
Utah State’s then-junior forward and defense specialist Pooh Williams held BYU’s Fredette to 19 points on 5-of-15 shooting during last season’s match-up. Williams, who is also an offensive threat, strained his groin muscle against the Wildcats and is a game-time decision.
“We have got great performances out of Pooh defensively in the past, and he also gives us a guy offensively that can get to the basket and cause some problems,” Morrill said. “He is a veteran, he is valuable in those areas, and we are hopeful that we have him, at least some.”
The Aggies are very experienced in the front-court and they will need to use that experience to counteract the size advantage that the Cougars will have tonight.
“Their system that everyone talks about is how fast they play and they do a great job of that running on makes and misses, but they are also really good defensively year in and year out,” Morill said. “It is hard to score against them. The size factor, we are going to face that a lot. When we match up we are not going to look very big out there.”
Tip-off against the Cougars is slated for 7:05 p.m. at the Marriott Center and can be seen on The Mtn.
–ty.d.hus@aggiemail.usu.edu