LOGAN – On Dec. 31, 1938 the Utah Agricultural College men’s basketball team won its ninth straight game to start the year against Nevada. On Dec. 19, 2022, the Utah State men’s basketball team stands on the cusp of breaking that record of nearly 84 years by going 10-0 to start the regular season if it beats Weber State. History is ready to be made this Monday.
How to watch
- Tip-off: 7:00 p.m. MT
- Location: Dee Glen Smith Spectrum | Logan, UT
- Broadcast: Mountain West Network
- Aggie GameDay Coverage on KVNU (102.1 FM/610 AM & KVNU mobile app): 6:00 p.m. MT
- KVNU Aggie Call (102.1 FM/610 AM, KVNU mobile app): Immediately after game ends
Injuries
Utah State
No injuries reported
Taylor Funk and Rylan Jones both missed last Thursday’s game against Westminster but are expected to play against Weber State.
Weber State
No injuries reported
Projected Starters
Utah State (9-0)
- G – Steven Ashworth (6-1, Jr.) – 18.4 points | 2.6 rebounds | 4.8 assists
- G – Max Shulga (6-4, Jr.) – 12.7 points | 5.7 rebounds | 5.0 assists
- G/F – Sean Bairstow (6-8, Sr.) – 9.7 points | 4.3 rebounds | 2.2 assists
- F – Taylor Funk (6-9, Gr.) – 16.3 points | 8.8 rebounds | 2.3 assists
- C – Trevin Dorius (7-0, Sr.) – 4.8 points | 3.3 rebounds | 0.2 assists
- 6th Man – Dan Akin (6-9, Gr.) – 13.3 points | 6.6 rebounds | 0.6 assists
Weber State (4-7)
- G – Keith Dinwiddie (6-0, So.) – 5.9 points | 1.6 rebounds | 1.3 assists
- G – Steven Verplancken (6-4, Jr.) – 12.8 points | 0.9 rebounds | 1.1 assists
- F – Dyson Koehler (6-7, So.) – 5.0 points | 2.3 rebounds | 1.3 assists
- F – Dillon Jones (6-6, So.) – 13.9 points | 9.3 rebounds | 3.6 assists
- C – Alex Tew (6-11, Jr.) – 6.0 points | 2.9 rebounds | 0.8 assists
- 6th Man – Junior Ballard (6-3, Sr.) – 9.3 points | 1.6 rebounds | 1.0 assists
Team Statistical Ranks
Stats and ratings are from Basketball Reference (except the NET ranking). All ranks are out of 363 Division I teams.
Utah State
- Pace – 73.1 (41st)
- Offensive Rating – 119.0 (2nd)
- Defensive Rating – 97.2 (160th)
- Field Goal % – 50.8 (7th)
- 3-point % – 45.7 (1st)
- Rebounding % – 54.4 (55th)
- NET Rank – 10th
Weber State
- Pace – 67.4 (270th)
- Offensive Rating – 98.7 (280th)
- Defensive Rating – 102.2 (262nd)
- Field Goal % – 43.3 (240th)
- 3-point % – 33.6 (192nd)
- Rebounding % – 48.4 (299th)
- NET Rank – 249th
Utah State will be at full strength for the first time in nearly three weeks when it faces Weber State. The Aggies had been without Rylan Jones since he suffered a concussion early in the game against Utah Tech. USU head coach Ryan Odom confirmed Jones would play, though he didn’t say whether or not Jones would return to the starting lineup, suggesting he may come off the bench for a game before taking his place as starter once more. Graduate forward Taylor Funk will also return after a one-game absence. Funk had twisted his ankle in practice according to Odom and will return to the starting lineup.
The Aggies are coming off a record-setting performance against Division II Westminster. In last Thursday’s game, USU made a school-record 21 threes en route to a season-high 106 points. That was without Funk (the team’s second-leading scorer) and Jones (arguably the team’s best passer) in the lineup. With those two back it should, on paper, make for a solid night for the red-hot Aggies.
Weber State have built up some momentum of their own, albeit not a ton considering the team is 4-7 on the year. The Wildcats have won their last two games, one against non-DI Saint Martin’s and a slightly more impressive 29-point road win over Cal Poly on Friday.
“To beat a team, I think it was 29 on the road like that, says a lot,” Odom said of Weber State’s win on Friday.
While Weber State has struggled, it does boast multiple solid players, particularly Dillon Jones. The sophomore forward is averaging career-highs in points (13.9) and assists (3.6) while also pulling in 9.3 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game.
“One of the keys you have to start with is Jones,” Odom said. “He’s been sensational pretty much since he stepped on campus and he’s really elevated his game, even this year. He lead them in basically every statistical category that they have. And so we’re going to have to deal with him. He’s a tough matchup at the four and they can move him to the five if they want to at times.”
Last year in the matchup between these two teams, Jones scored 19 points with 11 rebounds. Other returners for Weber State that faced the Aggies last year are Alex Tew (two points, four rebounds in last year’s matchup), Dyson Koehler (five points) and KJ Cunningham (did not score in 18 minutes played).
A major newcomer to the Wildcats’ lineup is guard Steven Verplancken. He’s second on the team in scoring and is both the most prolific and most efficient 3-point shooter. Verplancken has made 49.1 percent of his threes on 5.0 attempts per game this year.
Aside from Verplancken, and Cunningham who shoots 42.3 percent from three, Weber State doesn’t have any dangerous shooters. No other player on the team is currently shooting above the NCAA average (34 percent). But while the Wildcats may lack for 3-point shooting, they do not lack free-throw shooting as they rank second in Division I in free throw percentage at 82.8 percent this year.
“We’ve got to make sure that we’re keeping them off the line. Because when you shoot 80-somthing percent like they do that’s a recipe for disaster,” Odom said. “So we’ve got to make sure that we’re keeping our hands out and they’re running into our bodies (and that) we’re not making some clumsily, lazy fouls when they do get inside the arc on us.”
As far as the elephant in the room – Utah State’s potential to make history with a 10-0 start – Odom acknowledged how special that would be, but said there isn’t any pressure on the team to deliver that slice of history.
“What I reminded the guys is that while it’s a lot to be proud of, it is what it is. It’s a start. It’s not a finish, it’s a start to a season,” Odom said. “We certainly don’t want to minimize it because there’s a lot of teams that would love to be in the position that we’re in right now that aren’t. But it’s a start and it’s not about that for us. It’s about the next opponent.”
