Here comes Northwestern
The Aggie basketball team will try to follow their biggest win of the season with a victory against the Southland Conference-leading Northwestern State Demons in the ESPN BracketBusters Saturday night at the Spectrum.
The game is one of 50 BracketBusters to be played this weekend and is one of just 13 that will be televised. It will air on ESPNU at 8 p.m.
The Demons handed the Nicholls State Colonels just their second home loss of the season Thursday night in Louisiana, beating them 79-70 Thursday night to improve their record to 18-6 overall and 11-1 in the Southland Conference. Northwestern State will be riding an eight-game winning streak into Logan and they haven’t lost a game since an 80-73 setback at Sam Houston St. over a month ago.
Northwestern State is led by senior forward Clifton Lee who averages 13.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.
Demon guard Jermaine Wallace may be gunning for the university’s all-time 3-point record, as he needed just five before Thursday’s game against Nicholls State.
Utah State has some 3-point shooters of their own, however, as they recently slipped into the top position in the country, shooting at a 43.2 percent clip this season. Guard Jaycee Carroll is fourth in the nation, shooting 48.6 percent from behind the arc.
The Aggies (17-6, 8-4) rebounded from just their second loss in the Spectrum this season by smothering the Idaho Vandals on the road 80-42. The victory included a stretch during which USU scored 37 straight points.
-benwalker@cc.usu.edu