How to watch, projected starters, injuries – Cache Valley Daily

Utah State coach Ryan Odom talks to players during the first half of the team’s NCAA college basketball game against Air Force at Air Force Academy, Colo., Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023. (Parker Seibold/The Gazette via AP)

LOGAN – Utah State is 2-0 to start Mountain West play for the third time in the last four seasons, though it hasn’t played anyone at the top of the conference yet. Boise State isn’t at the top, per se, but have been a quality team with wins over a pair of Pac 12 schools (Washington State and Colorado). The Broncos come in ranked 56th in the NET which will make this the first Quad 1 game the Aggies have played this year.

How to watch

• Tip-off: 4:30 p.m. MT
• Location: ExtraMile Arena | Boise, ID
• TV Broadcast: FS1
• Aggie GameDay Coverage on KVNU (102.1 FM/610 AM & KVNU mobile app): 3:30 p.m. MT
• KVNU Aggie Call (102.1 FM/610 AM, KVNU mobile app): Immediately after game ends

Injuries

Projected Starters

Utah State (13-2, 2-0)

• G – Rylan Jones (6-0, Jr.) – 4.1 points | 1.3 rebounds | 3.6 assists
• G – Max Shulga (6-4, Jr.) – 12.3 points | 5.3 rebounds | 4.3 assists
• G/F – Sean Bairstow (6-8, Sr.) – 10.7 points | 4.4 rebounds | 2.4 assists
• F – Taylor Funk (6-9, Gr.) – 13.6 points | 5.9 rebounds | 1.9 assists
• C – Trevin Dorius (7-0, Sr.) – 4.9 points | 3.6 rebounds | 0.3 assists
• 6th Man – Steven Ashworth (6-1, Jr..) – 16.9 points | 2.9 rebounds | 4.1 assists

Boise State (11-4, 1-1)

• G –  Marcus Shaver (6-2, Sr.) – 14.9 points | 7.1 rebounds | 3.8 assists
• G –  Max Rice (6-5, Sr.) – 11.9 points | 4.9 rebounds | 1.5 assists
• G –  Chibuzo Agbo (6-7, Jr.) – 11.1 points | 4.7 rebounds | 0.8 assists
• F – Naje Smith (6-7, Sr.) – 9.5 points | 4.7 rebounds | 1.3 assists
• F –  Tyson Degenhart (6-7, So.) – 13.1 points | 5.4 rebounds | 1.9 assists

Team Statistical Ranks

Stats and ratings are from Basketball Reference (except the NET ranking). All ranks are out of 363 Division I teams.

This will easily be the toughest matchup of the year so far for Utah State. The Broncos are an elite defensive team and the Aggies will have to face off against that elite defense on the road. The toughest defense USU has gone up against away from the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum is Seattle’s 74th-ranked defense, but that game was also a neutral site game and not a true road contest like this one will be. Utah State has faced a defense similarly-ranked to Boise State this year: Bradley (19th) though that game was at home.

“They pack it in there. They go after your ball and they’re very physical,” Odom said. “They’re really trying to limit the amount of times that you drive inside of their defense.”

Saturday’s matchup will also be another one in which the Aggies face a team more inclined to slow the game down. The Aggies have done will in slower-paced games, downing both Fresno State and Air Force (two of the slowest teams in the country) by double-digit margins. Those two games are the first time since the very beginning of the year that USU has held back-to-back opponents to 65 or fewer points.

Boise State plays a smaller brand of basketball, fielding a starting lineup of players who all stand under 6-foot-8 (contrasting Utah State’s lineup with three players 6-foot-8 or taller). Despite the lack of height, the Broncos are still one of the better rebounding teams in the country, ranking 39th in rebounding percentage.

Two players to keep a close eye on from the Broncos are guard Marcus Shaver and forward Tyson Degenhart. Odom called Degenhart the “rock” of Boise State and praised both players in general.

“Shaver is the finisher in a lot of ways, not afraid of a big moment, not that Degenhart is either,” Odom said. “(Degenhart is) a matchup problem.”