USU MBB: Previewing Santa Clara and San Diego
LOGAN — Following two dominant wins from Utah State Men’s Basketball to open the season, the Aggies look to a new week facing two West Coast Conference opponents.
On Monday night, the Santa Clara Broncos come to town. Last season, the Broncos finished with a respectable 21-11 record with key wins over BYU, then-No. 22 Saint Mary’s, Stanford and TCU.
“They’ve lost two really good players and added some really good pieces. They play with a major tempo,” Utah State head coach Ryan Odom said.
The Broncos were backed by great play from forward Jalen Williams who was selected No. 12 by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Draft. That means the Broncos have to look for other means of scoring.
And they might’ve found it.
Illinois transfer, sophomore guard Brandin Podziemski has been exceptional for the Broncos early this season. Podziemski is averaging 32 points per game in his first two appearances as a Bronco. He shot 8-15 from the arc, 53.3%, and 19-36 from the field, 52.8%. This will create questions for the Aggies on who will defend the six-foot-five guard.
“They got the transfer from Illinois who is off to a blazing hot start,” Odom said. “He can shoot. He is very good with his fakes and getting you off balance and good in transition. We have to do a good job of not allowing him easy looks.”
Carlos Stewart, a six-foot-one sophomore guard, has also impressed this season. Stewart only averaged 5.4 points and 13.5 minutes a game last year, but he’s turned it around so far, averaging 17 points and 29 minutes a game.
“Their point guard Stewart is as fast as you’ll ever see,” Odom said. “We cannot give up transition baskets.”
The Broncos are one of four WCC teams the Aggies will face this season, the other is on Thursday against San Diego.
San Diego made improvements last season. After winning 12 combined games out of 34 from 2019 to 2021, the Toreros went 15-16 last season with an impressive win over Nevada last November 75-68.
The Toreros are 3-0 with wins over two Division-II schools and Florida Gulf Coast who beat USC on the road earlier this season. San Diego went to the transfer portal and landed guard Seikou Sisoho Jawara from Weber State. In two appearances this season, Sisho Jawara is averaging 19.5 points a game shooting just under 60% from the field and 42.9% from the arc.
Last year’s leading scorer, guard Marcellus Earlington, is also contributing well. The senior guard spent three seasons at St. Johns prior to last season and averaged 13.2 points and nearly seven rebounds a game in his first season as a Torero. This year, he’s averaging 14.7 points and 7.3 boards a game.
This season, San Diego welcomes a new head coach. Steve Lavin comes in to be the savior for a Torero program that needs a boost. Lavin was the head coach at St. John’s from 2010-2015 and he was previously the head coach at UCLA from 1996-2003. At UCLA, Lavin led the Bruins to six consecutive NCAA Tournaments, reaching the Elite Eight in his first season where they also won the Pac-10. Lavin has a 470-235 (66.6%) record as a college coach. In 2011, Lavin was named District II Coach of the Year.
Featured image by Elise Gottling from the UVU game.