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

Great Osobor shoots a free throw for Utah State men’s basketball. Photo by Lorene Hale.

Following a dominant victory over Marshall, Utah State will set its sights on a far more formidable foe in Akron. The Zips are undefeated this season with wins on the road at South Dakota State and a neutral site victory over Florida International already on their resume. It’ll be a test to rival the Aggies’ trip to Bradley and also a chance to show growth since that loss to the Braves.

How to watch

• Tip-off: 5:30 p.m. MT on Monday, Nov. 20






• Location: John Gray Gym (George Town, Cayman Islands)






• KVNU Aggie GameDay with Al Lewis: 4:30 p.m. 






• KVNU Aggie Call with Al Lewis: Immediately after Coach Sprinkle’s post-game comments






• TV Broadcast: FloHoops






• 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

Projected Starters

Utah State (3-1)

• G – Darius Brown (6-2, Sr.) – 14.0 points | 3.3 rebounds | 7.8 assists






• G – Mason Falslev (6-3, Fr.) – 9.8 points | 4.3 rebounds | 3.8 assists






• G – Josh Uduje (6-5, Jr.) – 12.0 points | 2.8 rebounds | 0.5 assists






• F – Great Osobor (6-8, Jr.) – 21.3 points | 10.5 rebounds | 3.5 assists






• C – Isaac Johnson (7-0, So.) – 6.0 points | 3.0 rebounds | 0.8 assists

Akron (4-0)

• G –Tavari Johnson (5-11, So.) – 6.3 points | 2.0 rebounds | 2.3 assists






• G – Greg Tribble (6-1, Sr.) – 8.0 points | 2.8 rebounds | 3.3 assists






• G – Nate Johnson (6-3, Jr.) – 10.5 points | 3.0 rebounds | 1.8 assists






• F – Enrique Freeman (6-7, Sr.) – 15.8 points | 13.5 rebounds | 2.5 assists






• F – Sammy Hunter (6-9, Sr.) – 11.0 points | 3.3 rebounds | 0.8 assists

Team Statistical Ranks

Pace and offense/defense efficiency ratings via Ken Pomeroy. All ranks are out of 363 Division I teams.

Summary

The Zips are well on their we to continuing a great run the last four years. Akron head coach John Groce has the program in a good place with 20-win seasons in three of the last four years (the one he didn’t was the COVID-shortened season where the team only played 23 games and they went 15-8). This year, the Zips were picked to finish first in the MAC preseason poll.

Akron brings yet another smaller lineup for the Aggies to face, powered by a deep guard rotation filled with elite-level shooting. The Zips are currently 26th in Division I in 3-point shooting percentage and are very willing to let fly from deep, ranking 11th in 3-point attempts per game (31.3). The Aggies have done fairly well holding down solid 3-point shooting teams, forcing opponents to shoot just 23.4 percent from deep. And Utah State’s faced some good shooting teams this season like Bradley (43rd in 3-point percentage) and Southern Utah (125th), those two teams shooting a combined 27.4 percent (14 of 51) in their games against the Aggies.

Utah State is continuing its work of becoming a better defensive team. Holding a fast-paced Marshall team to just 60 points was a great start

Offensively, USU is quietly one of the higher scoring teams in the country, averaging 85.8 points per game, having broken the 80-point barrier in three of its four games. A balanced attack, though headlined by Great Osobor and Darius Brown, has a deep supporting cast of guys like Mason Falslev, Ian Martinez and Josh Uduje.

On paper, this should be not only one of the best mid-major matchups of the day, but one of the better games in general.