Utah State hoops teams hope to contend in conference
With conference play just underway, the Utah State University men’s basketball program finds itself in a familiar position – on top. With a 9-1 record, in the midst of a six-game winning streak, last year’s Big West Tournament champion looks for continued success in the weeks to come.
Against non-conference opponents this season, the Aggies have posted a dominant 8-1 record, far and away the best preseason record of any team in the Big West.
Among the more notable preseason victories: a 76-74 defeat of a BYU squad featuring NBA prospect Rafael Araujo, and a 73-57 outing against New Mexico State for the championship in the Gossner Foods Classic. The only USU defeat came on Dec. 3, at the hands of the University of Utah.
In their only conference game to date, the Aggies avenged last year’s one-point loss to Idaho by knocking off the Vandals 69-56. Both Cardell Butler and Nate Harris posted career-high numbers in scoring, with 28 and 17 points respectively.
This week USU heads out on a tough two-game road trip to California. Thursday, the Aggies face Big West preseason favorite, and last year’s Big West regular season champion, UC Santa Barbara.
In two regular season meetings last year, the Aggies went 1-1 against the Gauchos, with the home team taking the victory in both meetings.
Coming off a 63-62 loss at Long Beach State, a game that saw UCSB blow a 20-point halftime lead, the Gauchos continue to struggle offensively, averaging only 63.9 points per game.
Junior Casey Cook leads the team with 11.9 points per game, followed by preseason all-conference senior Branduinn Fullove with nine.
On the other hand, the Aggies seem to be firing on all cylinders.
Utah State is in the top three in Big West scoring, averaging 71.8 points per game, as well as being the stingiest defense in the conference allowing only 59.3 points per game. The Ags are also shooting a league-high 52 percent from the field, leading the league in assists per game (16.7), and out-rebounding their opponents by a margin of just over 10 per game.
USU’s success can largely be attributed to some standout individual performances from Cardell Butler, Nate Harris, Mark Brown, and Spencer Nelson. Aside from career-high numbers against Idaho, Butler leads the team in scoring (14.8 points per game), three-point field goal percentage (54.3 percent), free throw percentage (86.2 percent), and has earned three consecutive Athlete of the Week honors.
Nelson, a junior, earned MVP honors at the Gossner Foods Classic after coming up one rebound short of a triple-double (11 points, 10 assists, 9 rebounds).
Nelson is averaging 11.4 points and 7.4 rebounds a night. Harris, who leads the league in field goal percentage (68.3 percent), is averaging 10.4 points per game, while pulling down almost six rebounds a night.
Brown, a senior, is atop the Big West in assists, averaging 5.3 per game.
Following Thursday’s matchup with UCSB, the Aggies head to Cal Poly on Saturday for a rematch of last year’s Big West championship game, a game USU won 57-54.
-acf@cc.usu.edu