Coach Danny Sprinkle claims his 100th career win against San Jose State
The Utah State University’s men’s basketball team beat the San Jose Spartans 82-61 in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Tuesday night.
Great Osobor ended the game with 31 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists. He attributed his high scores to his teammates.
“We have people that can lift you up and encourage you. You got to have a family,” Osobor said. “When things are going good, you got to show everyone a little love.”
Before the game, the Aggies were ranked as No. 17 in both the AP and Coaches Polls, making this the fourth straight week the team has been ranked in the national polls this season.
The Aggies came into the game with a 6-1 record in the Mountain West Conference and an 18-2 overall record. This is the fourth best record in school history and best since the 2010-11 team won 22 of its first 24 games. Nationally, the record is tied for the fourth most wins.
Utah State is also perfect in their home game streak for this season. On average, they are winning these games by 21.7 points.
The Aggies have a 69-23 all-time record against San Jose State, including a 40-4 record, and went 36-3 against the Spartans in their last 39 meetings. The Aggies also had a home game streak of 30-0 against the San Jose Spartans.
The Spartans, on the other hand, have an 8-12 record and 1-6 in the Mountain West Conference. They beat the Aggies in the 2022-23 season at their homecourt 69-64.
For the Spartans, four of the seven conference games have been decided by three points or fewer.
The Aggie Pep Band played throughout the game, leading the crowd in “The Scotsman.”
The game officials were Randy McCall, Gregory Nixon and D.G. Nelson.
Isaac Johnson started the game with a drive and quick bucket in the paint. Great Osobor scored the first and-one bucket for the Aggies.
Osobor was named for the Lute Olsen Award mid-season watch list. He leads the Aggies and the Mountain West Conference in defensive rebounds at 6.75 per game and is third for offensive rebounds at 2.95 per game.
Osobor credited his achievements in his teammates and the Aggies as a whole.
San Jose State players attempt to stop USU guard, Great Osobor, from going for a basket.
“You do it for your teammates, you know,” Osobor said. “Like all the games we’re playing right now, we’re playing for Utah State. We’re playing for the Aggies, and you hold each other accountable because you want to be the best player for your team.”
Josh Uduje drove hard through the paint to slam it down on some Spartans for his first points of the game. Over the past three games before this, Uduje was averaging 14.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists, while shooting 61.5% from the field and 83.3% from the line.
With 11:16 left in the first half, Darius Brown II sent a pass from the top of the key to Kalifa Sakho for a dunk, bringing the score to 15-14 for the Spartans.
Brown has gotten at least six assists in 14 games this season and within that has hit double-digit assists in three games. This makes him one of eight players in collegiate basketball to have at least six assists this season.
Ian Martinez put up a huge block on Spartan Tibet Gorener, rebounded it, then went coast to coast to score on the other end. Since joining the starting lineup 14 games ago, Martinez has averaged 15.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.0 blocks per game.
The Aggies ended the first half up 37-30 with a team average field goal of 55.2% compared to the Spartans’ 36.7%.
Although the team was up going into the second half, head coach Danny Sprinkle thought the athletes could do better.
“I didn’t think the energy was great in the first half. I thought we had a couple guys that were a little sluggish,” Sprinkle said.
Isaac Johnson landed his first three of the game in the second half. Johnson got his first career double-double in the previous game against Boise State. He ended the game with 7 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists.
Sprinkle called a timeout after the Aggies let the Spartans get within 10 points at a score of 53-43.
Uduje slammed the ball down over a Spartan which later forced Spartan coach Tim Miles to call a timeout. Osobor also slammed a dunk down over Spartan Myron Amey Jr., making his 31st point of the night.
Sprinkle subbed-in the secondary squad at 1:40 left in the half and a score of 79-56.
The crowd chanted “We want ice cream,” and then Sakho drained his second free-throw to bring the score to 80 for the free ice cream from Culver’s.
Aggies beat the Spartans 82-61, extending their at-home win streak against the Spartans to 31-0.
Sprinkle also achieved his 100th career win in his five seasons as head coach at the collegiate level. But the achievement was not something on his mind.
“I had no idea until about a week ago,” Sprinkle said.
He didn’t attribute his success to himself, but to his current players and the ones he has had over the years.
“It’s having great players, not only here, but at Montana State for four years,” Sprinkle said. “Everybody that’s been a part of that success track is deserving. I haven’t scored one point, one rebound, one assist in those 100 wins.”
He said the staff he works with also helped him get to where he is.
“There’s so much that goes into winning at the Division I level, and if you don’t have a great staff — if you don’t have any great players, you’re not winning any games,” Sprinkle said.
The Aggies take on the San Diego State Aztecs on Saturday, Feb. 3 in San Diego. The week after that, they are back home to play the Boise State Broncos at home in the Spectrum on Feb. 10. The Stew Morrill court will be unveiled that day to honor his years as head coach for the Aggies.