Rebounding to be factor vs. NMSU
After a nine-day break, Utah State will return to the hardwood Saturday night as they will lace up their sneakers against another Aggie team, New Mexico State, at the Spectrum. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:05 p.m., and Fox Sports Utah will be broadcasting the game on TV. Normally the northern Aggies would not have had such a long break, but bad weather in Reno, Nev., forced the Nevada game to be postponed from last Saturday to Feb. 11. The long break has given Utah State a chance to get in some extra practice time. “It gave us a lot more time to practice, which is a good thing,” freshman big man Tai Wesley said. “We looked at it like, ‘Oh man more practice,’ but in reality it has helped us on the rebounding end as well as the defensive end.” Rebounding and defense will be two things Utah State will have to do well if it stands a chance at beating the southern Aggies. New Mexico State comes into the game as the WAC’s top rebounding team with a plus 6.6 rebounds per game advantage over their opponents. If Utah State gets out-rebounded, it won’t be for lack of effort “We have been working on two things since the Hawaii game. Number one rebounding, and the second thing is just overall team defense,” assistant coach Tim Duryea said. Defense will be critical as New Mexico State brings four guys to the game who are averaging double figures in scoring, led by forward Justin Hawkins who is a University of Utah transfer from two years ago. Hawkins comes into the game as the league’s fourth leading scorer at 19 points per game as well as being the league’s fourth leading rebounder at nearly eight boards per game. “They have a stud player with Hawkins,” said conference scoring leader Jaycee Carroll, who is putting up 21.6 points per game. Fortunately for Utah State, Carroll has brought a loaded gun with him when playing against the southern Aggies as he has averaged 28.6 points a game in five tries. Last year Carroll scored a career-high 44 points at home against New Mexico State. In the regular season he recorded another 30 on the road in Las Cruces and 26 during the WAC Tournament Championship game. “Last year was unbelievable, his average must have been 34 or 35 points,” Duryea said. “I think there’s certain match-ups and certain teams that you just feel comfortable against.” In the title game, Carrol had an off-balanced 3-point attempt that would have given the Aggies the win. The shot fell short, and as a result the northern Aggies lost, 72-70. Carroll said he isn’t thinking about last year and he just wants to focus on this year’s game Saturday night. “Last year was last year,” Carroll said. “It’s always nice to beat the team, but it’s a different team than it was last year, and our team is different as well.” And how can he explain scoring so many points the opposing Aggies? “I really don’t know,” Carroll said. “For some reason against New Mexico State I have been able to shoot the ball well. Maybe it’s because they’re so big that we’re able to get good screens on them and create more separation to get me shots.” Whatever the explanation, the Aggies will look to have a big game out of Carroll. Wesley in particular is hoping for a good night out of the senior team captain. “Sometimes you just feel so comfortable with the ball in your hand and with somebody on your back that you can go off on them, and maybe Jaycee feels that way with New Mexico State,” Wesley said. “Hopefully that’s true.” Wesley has been a big reason lately why Utah State hasn’t needed as big of games from Carroll as they did at the beginning of the season. The freshman from Provo, Utah, scored a career-high 27 points last time out against Hawaii and had a two big halves in the games before that. “I feel a lot more comfortable around the basket,” Wesley said. “Starting and just going out and having fun.” Since Wesley and fellow freshman Tyler Newbold have been inserted into the starting lineup, Utah State has gone 6-0 in large part because the team is not turning the ball over like they were at the beginning of the season. “We’re not doing the dumb things that we did to begin the season that forced us to lose so bad,” Carroll said. “We’re not turning the ball over 20 times a game.” Duryea praised the current lineup for being the best passers the team has, and that is why the team has seen less turnovers and is shooting a higher percentage, he said. “As a unit, we pass the ball better. This is the best passing unit we can put on the floor,” Duryea said. “Our turnovers have gone down and our shooting percentage has gone up.” Despite the team’s improvement, Carroll said New Mexico State will be a big challenge and that anything that has happened in the past doesn’t mean a thing. “It doesn’t matter a lot what I did last season. It all matters what I do this season,” Carroll said. “You’re only as good as your last performance.” -sam.bryner@aggiemail.usu.edu