Aggies, Smith vie for 3-0 start against Delta Devils
With two wins already under their belt, the Aggies will look to make Craig Smith the ninth USU head coach to start his tenure 3-0 by beating Mississippi Valley State.
Utah State already made history by scoring 100 points in each of its first two games — a feat no Aggie team has ever accomplished to start the season.
It’s possible that such a high scoring total could be seen again Tuesday. The Delta Devils have followed up a 4-28 season with an 0-2 start this season with multiple blowout losses to Nebraska (106-37) and Texas Tech (84-52). This matchup also come nearly one year to the day after Utah State pummeled MVSU 83-47 in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
In breaking down his opponent, Smith drew on one of his common sayings of “expect the unexpected,” talking about the variety of looks his team could see from MSVU, who returned their top three scorers from last season.
“Defensively, you name it, they do it,” Smith said. “Offensively, they want to run. They were one of the top offensive rebounding teams in the country last year. It is going to be a lot of one-on-one, guard the ball and find a way to finish possessions. They play 12 guys on a regular basis, so we’ve told our guys to expect the unexpected. At the end of the day, we need to play hard and play unselfish, like we have been, and not get caught up in what they are doing defensively and keep playing our brand of basketball.”
Part of the Aggies’ brand so far this season has been taking fewer 3-pointers and more layups. Last season the team ranked 38th in 3-pointers attempted, taking 25.6 per game. Through two games, USU now ranks 238th at just 18 per game.
Many of what used to be 3-point shots are now opportunities the Aggies are taking to attack the paint. Thus far Utah State has attempted 68 layups and dunks, or 49.0 percent of all shots taken (last season 45.7 percent of all shots by USU were 3-pointers).
“It is a lot of who we are,” Smith said of taking so many shots at the rim. “It lends itself to our guys who can score and get to the paint. It also helps when you have some guys who can really shoot it and stretch you out. It is a combination of everything, but our style of play lends itself to those results.”
Utah State will be tested by the Delta Devils in the rebounding department. Last season, MSVU ranked 60th in the nation in offensive rebounds led by Emmanuel Ejeh who had 2.2 offensive boards per game in just 16.1 minutes per game. Dante Scott, a 6-foot-4 guard and the team’s leading scorer a season ago at 14.9 points, hauled in 1.7 offensive rebounds per contest.
Luckily, the Aggies have been dominant in terms of rebounding thus far. In both wins, USU has out-rebounded its opponent by at least 20 (51-25 at Montana State and 48-26 against Hartford).
“Rebounding is a mentality and we’ve done a good job,” Smith said. “We’ve got a big front line. But, just because you are big, doesn’t mean you’re going to be a good rebounding team. Rebounding is instinctive, but it is also about effort.”
This game is the second of three home games Utah State will play as part of the MGM Resorts Main Event tournament. The three-game stand will conclude Friday against Utah Valley University with the Aggies moving on to play Saint Mary’s in Las Vegas and then either Arizona State or Mississippi State in the same venue.