Utah State hoopsters prepared for home contests
Utah State is the only team in the Big West Conference that is undefeated at home this season, but UC Irvine would like to do something about that as it visits the Spectrum Thursday night.
After being on the road for the last three games, the Aggies are happy to be home and are hoping for the fans to rally behind them during the last five home games of the season.
“In college basketball there are a lot of reasons why home courts are important. Most of that has to do with energy and enthusiasm,” said USU Head Coach Stew Morrill. “The Spectrum has always been that. And we need it to be that more than it’s ever been … in the next few weeks.”
The Anteaters, who defeated the Aggies 75-73 in an overtime matchup earlier this season, come to Logan for the first time this year, sitting in third place in the BWC.
Much of the Aggie focus this week has been on defense. After finding itself in a zone defense for just over 10 possessions in their last encounter, Utah State will look to its man-to-man defense to combat a potent Anteater attack that dominated UC Riverside and Cal State Fullerton last week by an average of 18.5 points.
“The problem with a team like Irvine is that we’ve always mixed our defenses,” Morrill said. “It’s difficult to play zone against them because they’ve got so many shooters running around.”
Leading the Anteater attack is senior guard Mike Hood. Hood, who averages 10.4 points per game and has shot 18 for 24 from three-point territory during his last six games, was recently named the Big West Player of the Week.
Supporting Hood are senior forward Jordan Harris and junior center Adam Parada. Harris, who averages 11.6 points per game, has turned out 11 double-figure games this season, while Parada averages 11.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game and is the UCI career leader in blocks with 100.
“They’ve got more weapons than anybody in the league,” Morrill said. “It’s hard to say where to put more priority. If we’re out too much on the perimeter, it’s hard to help in the post.”
The Aggies will look for senior Desmond Penigar and sophomore forward Spencer Nelson to continue putting up near double-double figures in Thursday night’s game. Penigar, who was held to only two points against UC Santa Barbara, bounced back last Saturday scoring 18 against Cal Poly.
“When Irvine came in last year they were so aggressive. And I’ll think that’s the way they’ll show up again,” Morrill said. “We need to work on our defensive stuff, but we have to make sure that we get out and play aggressive offensive basketball.”
The game starts at 6:35 p.m. to accommodate California television.
–acfalk@cc.usu.edu