MW Tourney: Keys to victory over Colorado State
After Utah State’s win against the Air Force Academy on Wednesday, they face the Colorado State Rams in the Mountain West Tournament Quarterfinals on Thursday evening. The Aggies matched up with the Rams twice in the regular season and fell short each time.
Utah State traveled to Fort Collins on January 12 where they lost by just five points. The Aggies trailed by as many as 10 points in the second half but climbed back to tie the game late in the second half before falling. Colorado State’s David Roddy, who was named Mountain West Player of the Year on Tuesday, and Isiah Stevens had a combined 46 points. The rest of the team had just 31.
The Rams came to the Spectrum on senior night of this year where they beat the Aggies again, this time 66-55. USU held the lead halfway through the second half in this game as well before CSU pulled away. Kendle Moore would be the problem for the Aggies on that night, as he had 23 points to lead the Rams to victory.
Utah State’s 27-point win over Air Force marks their biggest margin of victory during the postseason in program history. They were in complete control the whole game, even in a first half where forward Justin Bean had just four points. It may be just what the Aggies needed to get hot and make a run in the tournament. Is it enough to get going and push past Colorado State this evening?
Here are my keys to the game for an Aggie upset tonight.
- Balanced Scoring
The Aggies had five players score in double-digits against Air Force, just the fourth time they’ve done that this year. They are now 4-0 on the season when they have five guys score more than 10 points. In addition, USU is 14-3 on the year when four or more players are double-digit point scorers. Typically, when Bean only has four points in the first half, it is grounds for concern. Utah State went into the locker room up 11 because other guys were carrying the load. For the Aggies to pull off the victory, they’ll need everybody to contribute.
- Containing Roddy/Stevens
In the first matchup between these two teams, Roddy and Stevens combined for over half of Colorado State’s points. In the second matchup, the two had just 24 points total. The duo was limited, but Roddy and Bean seemingly canceled each other out and the rest of the Aggie squad couldn’t push them over the top. If Utah State can adhere to key No. 1 while containing these dynamic scorers, they’ll be in good shape.
3. Get Horvath Rolling
Brandon Horvath took control for the Aggies against Air Force, putting up 18 points and pulling down 12 rebounds. The Falcons had no answer for him underneath and that led to a great passing game getting shots for other shooters. In the second matchup against the Rams, Horvath had 11 points but went just 3-10 from the free-throw line. If Horvath, capitalize from the charity stripe and stay out of foul trouble, the Rams will have a tough time with him and Bean.