Aggies To Face In-State Rival UVU
Utah State looks to continue their perfect season and capture a fourth win, against Utah Valley University to make coach Craig Smith only the seventh coach in USU history to start his career 4-0. The game will take place at 7:00 Friday, Nov. 16th in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
USU was dominant in all three of their wins to open the season with the smallest margin of victory being 23 points against Hartford. Thus far, the Aggies have scored a prolific average of 98.3 PPG. UVU may have the best defense which USU has seen yet, however, and may perhaps be the best overall team the Aggies have faced.
“They’re a good team,” Utah State head coach Craig Smith said. “They have everything. They can score inside. They have guys that can create off the bounce that can really, really shoot it. Then they’re physical and good defensively. Certainly, it will be our stiffest test.”
UVU is 1-2 on the season, losing games to BYU and Saint Mary’s, two good teams from the WCC which Coach Smith believes could be dancing come March.
“At BYU, it’s a one-point game with five-and-a-half minutes to go,” Smith said. “That thing was a slugfest. We know how difficult it is to win at the Marriott Center, especially against a very good BYU team. The Saint Mary’s game, obviously, kind of just got away from them.”
Smith also keyed in on UVU’s duo of cousins, Connor and Jake Toolson, two all-league players in the WAC from last season.
“Those guys are ultra-competitive, they’re really heady, really smart and just really know how to play.”
An area where UVU may struggle is on the glass where USU has dominated this season, out-rebounding each of their opponents by double-digits with a season average of 49.3 per game, outpacing UVU’s average of 38.3 by over 10 boards
USU also has the statistical advantage in PPG, assists and blocks, and leads UVU across the board in shooting averages. The Aggies have plenty of reasons to be confident coming into this game at home.
History is also on USU’s side, as they have a perfect all-time record against UVU: 12-0 overall and 6-0 at home. The in-state rivalry may have an effect on the game, though, as rivalries tend to bring out the best in both teams.
“Almost all the time when you see in-state games, they almost always come down to the wire.” Says says Smith. “Regardless of what team is better or what team is worse, for some reason you’ve seen it a million times where those in-state players really seem to step up because there is that level of pride… That’s just how those type of things go, it seems like.”
The game will be the last in a three game home stand for the MGM Resorts Main Event tournament and one which both teams will be looking forward to. “It’ll be a great test for us,” Smith said, “and we’re looking forward to it.”