Game Preview: Utah State Hosts New Mexico in Top Ranked Battle
Utah State Men’s Basketball will welcome the New Mexico Lobos into the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Saturday for the first faceoff between these two teams this season. Saturday’s bout features the two top-ranked teams in the Mountain West, with both teams boasting a 9-1 conference record.
“We know it’s a big game. It’s a big game for both teams, but we have the same mindset as every other game going into it,” Aggie guard Drake Allen said while addressing the media on Friday. “We’ve got to come out and play our game — play our style of basketball, and if we do that, then we shouldn’t have too much to worry about.”
While this game alone will not decide the conference regular season champion, the winner of Saturday’s matchup will sit alone atop the conference standings, controlling their own destiny in the race for the regular season crown.
“That’s why you get into this thing, right — is to hang banners, have memories … certainly you don’t want other people to control your destiny,” Utah State head coach Jerrod Calhoun said during media availability on Friday. “I think the guys are well aware of that. You know, you’ve got to execute the game plan. You’ve got to play really well. They’re good. It’s not a team you can sneak up on. Both teams are playing really well.”
New Mexico enters Saturday’s matchup having won 10 of their last 11 games, with their lone blunder coming on the road at San Jose State. The Lobos are fueled by Mountain West Player of the Year frontrunner Donovan Dent, who is averaging just under 20 points and over six assists per game. In their most recent outing against UNLV last Saturday, Dent seemingly willed his squad to victory, scoring 34 points in the road win.
“You start with Dent — he’s got to see bodies, you know,” Calhoun said. “You’ve got to score the ball … you talk about defense, but if you can score, you can get your defense set. If you don’t score, you don’t get the defense set. He plays in space. He plays really fast.”
In addition to Dent, the Lobos also rely on center Nelly Junior Joseph, who averages 13.5 points and over 10 rebounds per game. The Aggies have struggled at times against size inside, including during their most recent matchup against UNLV where the Rebels’ Jeremiah Cherry put multiple Aggies in foul trouble.
“It’s definitely something that we’re focusing on. You know, they’re big, they’re physical,” Allen said. “They’ve got a couple bigs, but I think that we have the depth, and we’re going to play that to our advantage.”
This game features two teams with contrasting offensive styles, with the Lobos relying primarily on their starters for their scoring and the Aggies getting production up and down their roster. Dent and Junior Joseph combined for 56 of New Mexico’s 75 points against UNLV last week, with no other Lobo in double-digits. Additionally, New Mexico’s bench accounted for just three points on the day.
Conversely, Utah State had five scorers in double digits during Wednesday’s 76-71 win over UNLV, with 37 points coming off the bench. The Aggies rank No. 21 in the nation in bench points per game, getting an average of 30.4 points per game from their bench.
“We have so many guys that can produce and have a good night on any night,” Allen said. “You’ve got to go out there — give it all you can. Play as hard as you can because you know that you’ve got someone coming off the bench ready to pull off the same energy.”
The Aggies will look to rely on their depth for the win against New Mexico, while also trying to limit the impact of Dent and Junior Joseph.
The Lobos are one of the fastest-paced teams the Aggies will face, averaging over 83 points per game, putting them in the top 20 in the country in points per game. Utah State will look to counter New Mexico’s pace with some pace of their own.
“With fast teams, you can’t let them play that way, right? We understand it because we like to play fast,” Allen said. “The best way to stop people from playing fast is putting the ball in the basket. You put the ball in the basket, they can’t run the floor, so we’ve got to make the good decisions on offense — put them all in the basket, so we can set our zone on the other side of the floor.”
Something USU has struggled with recently is starting games slowly from an offensive perspective. In their win against UNLV, the Aggies held the Runnin’ Rebels to an over five-minute scoring drought right out of the gate. Despite that, Utah State led by just three points, 7-4, with 14:08 in the first half.
“We’re known for our slow starts inside the Spectrum, you know. So, we’ve got to come out and really do a good job defensively,” Calhoun said. “Be disruptive, finish plays, box out, try to create some easy opportunities.”
Saturday’s game will be the 48th all-time meeting between these two programs, with Utah State holding the series lead with a 34-13 record against the Lobos. The Aggies are also 18-2 against New Mexico inside the Spectrum.
Saturday’s matchup will add another chapter in the dramatic Utah State versus New Mexico series history. Looking back to just last season, this matchup has been full of drama. The last time these two teams faced off inside the Spectrum, USU’s Darius Brown II hit a late three to lift the Aggies to victory and a regular season championship.
The Lobos weren’t finished on the year, as they rallied in the Mountain West Men’s Basketball Championship, winning the tournament and securing the conference’s automatic NCAA Tournament bid.
While this game will not determine the Mountain West champion, nor who will make the NCAA Tournament, the now sold-out “Spectrum Magic” game is sure to have some fireworks.
“Both teams will be ramped up — there’s no doubt about it,” Calhoun said. “I think there’s, you know, a little bit more added value when both teams are sitting where they are in the standings and two great programs. So, it’ll be an intense environment.”