Blue rivals to face off at neutral site
Neutral.
A lot has been made about the fact that the Aggies’ “home” game against instate rival BYU will be played at the EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City Saturday.
With USU winning four of the past five games in the series, and the Cougars’ last win at the Spectrum coming at the turn of the century, it’s no wonder BYU head coach Dave Rose worked hard to get this year’s game moved to a neutral site.
Both teams enter the game undefeated on the young season, and each should be the other’s toughest opponent to date.
BYU is 7-0 coming off a 30-point victory of Weber State, while the Aggies come in 5-0 after dispensing of a pesky UC Irvine team that has a history of playing well in the Spectrum.
On paper the teams look to be well matched. USU defeated that same Weber State team earlier this season by 26 points, and each team has played Cal Poly at home, as well.
The Cougars won that game by 12, 76-64, while the Aggies ran the Mustangs off the court winning by 40-points, 97-57.
With both teams playing at such a high level, the Aggies are looking at the match-up as a good indicator of where they are in their development.
“It will be a great measuring stick to see where we really are at on both sides of the ball,” said sophomore guard Tyler Newbold. “I’m really looking forward to it. It’s going to be really fun.”
This weekend’s game will be the 225th meeting between these two schools and, after a break last season, will renew the state’s oldest rivalry. Last year was the first time since the 1917-18 season the two teams did not meet during a scheduled season.
With both teams undefeated on the season, this game marks the fifth time in the history of the series that has ever happened. This game also marks the first game in the series that will be played on a neutral court.
Both the players and USU head coach Stew Morrill know the Aggies are going to have to perform better than they did against the Anteaters to beat that school with the similar shade of blue to the south.
Morrill said the team will have to improve in a hurry, as the Aggies have struggled during the early going of games.
“It’s up to them. I’ve talked and talked and talked. I’ve got no magical solution,” Morrill said. “I’m not a magician in here. They’ve got to decide if they want to start the game a little better.”
Even with their struggles against UCI, Aggie players are excited for their first shot at the Cougars.
“I haven’t played against them because we didn’t get to play them last year,” Newbold said. “It’s going to be tough, but if we rise up to the challenge we’ll be all right. We’ll be fine.”
And, despite the game not being in the Spectrum, Newbold still expects a homecourt advantage.
“I’m sure it will be a really neat environment,” Newbold said. “I’m sure our fans will travel well down there. And they’ll be loud, of course. I’m not really looking at it as a road game at all.”
After taking on BYU, USU travels to Utah Valley College Dec. 13. The Aggies will be playing eight games during Christmas break – including a Dec. 22 home game against Utah.
–t.olsen@aggiemail.usu.edu