LOGAN — Utah State’s official season opener comes just a couple of days after the Aggies won their exhibition against Montana State Billings. That was the first chance USU fans had to see this entirely new-look team under first-year head coach Danny Sprinkle.
How to watch
- Tip-off: 7:30 p.m. MT
- Location: Dee Glen Smith Spectrum (Logan, UT)
- KVNU Aggie GameDay with Al Lewis: 6:30 – 7:15 p.m.
- KVNU Aggie Call with Al Lewis: Immediately after Coach Sprinkle’s post-game comments
- TV Broadcast: Mountain West Network
- Radio Broadcast: KVNU (102.1 FM, 610 AM) in Logan; KVNU (98.3) in Tremonton; KVNU (93.5) in Garden City; KZNS (97.5 FM, 1280 AM) in Salt Lake City; KRPX (102.7 FM) in Green River, Utah; KRPX (100.3 FM) in Moab; KRPX (95.9 FM) in Orangeville; KRPX (95.3 FM) in Price; KVSI (1450 AM/104.5 FM) in Montpelier, Idaho.
Injuries
- F – Max Agbonkpolo – Probable
- F – Great Osobor (Ankle) – Questionable
- G – Ian Martinez (Eligibility Appeal) – OUT
It’s possible that both Max Agbonkpolo and Great Osobor see time, especially the former. Agbonkpolo got last-minute clearance to play in USU’s exhibition against MSU Billings and played 13 minutes coming off the bench. Osobor sat out the exhibition but did practice some with the team on Sunday. It’s not certain he’ll be available and even if he is, Sprinkle may opt to hold him out so as to not rush one of his key players back and potentially reaggravate Osobor’s ankle injury
Ian Martinez remains out due to not having received word on whether his appeal for eligibility will be granted or not.
Projected Starters
- G – Darius Brown II (6-2, Gr.)
- G – Mason Falslev (6-3, Fr.)
- G – Josh Uduje (6-5, Jr.)
- F – Isaac Johnson (7-0, So.)
- C – Kalifa Sakho (6-11, Jr.)
This was the Aggies’ starting five on Friday but don’t be too surprised to see changes. Sprinkle was pretty up front saying there would probably be changes this game. Exactly what those changes may be is anyone’s guess as both Agbonkpolo and Osobor, if healthy, could start and there are four different players that could get pushed from the starting five if one (or both) of those two jump into the opening lineup. The only lock at this point is Darius Brown.
Summary
Playing a Division II team in the season/home opener is usually considered a slam dunk for a win, and that’s probably going to be the case in this one. The Aggies took on a much better D2 team on Friday and led by 20 points late in the game before taking their foot off the gas. Barring a major surprise, USU should come home with a win. But this game holds a lot of importance as it’s the next opportunity for a young team with little experience playing together to grow and develop.
Sprinkle wasn’t particularly impressed with his team allowing so many open 3-pointers to MSU Billings and South Dakota Mines will give the Aggies another look at a team willing to put up a lot of 3-pointers. Last year the Hardrockers averaged just over 25 threes attempted per game, more than last year’s elite 3-point shooting Aggie team.
And it’s not just going to be about guarding the three. USU also struggled to get rebounds, specifically on MSU Billings’ threes. The Yellowjackets got eight offensive rebounds on their 3-point misses.
“We’re gonna have to really guard the 3-point line. And like the other night there’s gonna be a lot of long rebounds,” Sprinkles said. “We didn’t do a good job of corralling a lot of those long rebounds. You saw MSU Billings got those. And so we’ve got to correct that. We showed them on tape. I imagine and I hope that we’ll be a lot better (against South Dakota Mines) with that.”
The Hardrockers lost their leading scorer from last year, Brevin Walter (20.3 points per game), but do return their close second, Alejandro Rama, who averaged 19.6 points per game (albeit in just 18 games played). He’s hyper-efficient 6-foot-1 scoring guard who over the last two seasons has shot 47.1 percent from the field which includes his blistering 43.6 percent on 3-pointers. And he doesn’t take a handful of 3-pointers in a game, Rama has averaged 6.7 attempts from downtown per game the last two years
Sprinkle specifically pointed Rama out as a player USU will need to key on.
“They have a tremendous point guard who is very athletic, who can get his own shot off,” Sprinkle said. “He can go for 30. He’s a very good player. So we’ve got to really key on him.”
Rama will be a fitting test for the Aggie guards after a stellar performance on Friday where they showed great defensive intensity when guarding the perimeter.
