Ags, Utes to battle at the U
Utah State lost to Weber State by seven and beat Santa Clara by six.
The University of Utah beat Weber by 20 but lost to Santa Clara by 15.
So who is the better team?
Well, that question will be answered at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City Wednesday night, when the Aggies head south for their 220th meeting with in-state rival Utah.
“In-state games take on a special meaning, and they should,” USU head coach Stew Morrill said. “If you’re raised in this state like I was, you understand the tradition of these games and the history of them and you know how important they are to your fans and hopefully to your players. In-state games should never be looked at or viewed as any other game. They’re not.”
The rivalry between the Utes and Aggies is the second oldest in USU history, as only the 224 games Utah State has played with Brigham Young University go back farther. Overall, the Aggies trail 127-91 in the all-time series, but USU has won six of the last nine match-ups, including a 60-57 nail-biter in the Spectrum last year.
But with a new coach, this year’s Utah team looks different.
“They run totally different offensive stuff,” Morrill said. “They run all the Michigan State stuff you see with (Tom) Izzo, and obviously they are playing good defense.”
The Utes also come into this year’s meeting with more experience.
“A lot of those kids are a year older, and that’s always a difference,” Morrill said. “As long as I’ve coached, a year’s experience makes a huge difference.”
No matter the differences, Morrill sees a challenge awaiting the Aggies in Salt Lake City.
“When we played Ray’s (Giacoletti, Utah’s former coach) teams, I thought they were well coached, and we had our hands full trying to beat them, and that’s what I think right now,” he said. “They’re playing hard, they run good stuff, they’ve got a lot of different weapons and they really shot the ball. You look and try to find ways to guard all of their personnel and it’s pretty challenging. We’re going to have to play awfully well to be in the game.”
Utah is 4-2 on the season but is only 1-2 at home. They are led by junior center Luke Nevill, who averages 13.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Senior guard Johnnie Bryant is also averaging 13.3 points per game for the Utes.
As a team, Utah is scoring 74.5 points and shooting 53.2 percent from the field and 42.9 percent on 3-pointers. They are holding opponents to 64.8 points and a 41.8 shooting percent from the field and 41.5 percent from beyond the arc.
Utah State comes into the game playing pretty well, riding their first winning streak of the year. The Aggies beat Santa Clara Dec. 1 in the Spectrum and took care of the University of Iowa Nov. 24 at the South Padre Island Invitational.
Morrill pins the Aggies’ progress on increased practice time.
“It makes me feel better that we can practice, because it makes you think that you are able to work on some things,” he said. “We’re not throwing the ball to the other team as much, that helps. When you toss it to the other team and they go down and lay it in, that makes it difficult. The last couple of games we’ve been in single digits in turnovers, so that’s progress.”
The progress is also evident in other numbers. Over the last two games, USU is averaging 73 points and shooting 48.9 percent from the field, 50 percent from behind the 3-point line and 75 percent from the free-throw line. The Aggies are holding opponents to 63.5 points and a 48.5 shooting percent from the field and 33.3 percent from 3-point range.
Utah State has been making strides on the offensive end the last four games, as it is shooting 51.9 percent from the field, compared to just 44 percent during the first five games.
The last time the Aggies traveled to the Huntsman Center, in 2005, they were sent home with a heartbreaking, 67-66 loss. But last year’s game in the Spectrum had to be just as depressing for the Utes, with Chaz Spicer hitting a 3-pointer with 1.9 seconds left on the clock to give Utah State the 60-57 win.
Whether Wednesday night’s game follows the script or not, it’s certain to be another meaningful game between old rivals.
“I would be surprised if this game didn’t take on a special meaning, hopefully for all our guys, but certainly the in-state kids understand the rivalry just like I did growing up,” Morrill said.
-da.bake@aggiemail.usu.edu