Mason Falslev flies to the hoop during a game against Northwest Nazarene in the Spectrum on Dec. 9, 2023. Photo by Clint Allen
LOGAN — Following a relatively easy week strength-of-schedule wise, Utah State will take on two tough opponents this week, starting with a road trip to Santa Clara to take on the Broncos.
Sprinkle opened up his comments to the media by saying Santa Clara is “probably…the best team we’ve played so far.” And while the consensus of computer and human rankings may not agree, there’s plenty of evidence to suggest the Broncos are not a team to be taken lightly, especially when facing them on the road.
Santa Clara began the year 6-0, a run that included wins over Stanford (92 in KenPom) and Oregon (39). Since then, the Broncos are 1-3, but those losses are to Ohio State (28), California (166) and New Mexico (33) which certainly aren’t the worst losses to have one one’s resume. Notably, though, each of those losses were away from home. Santa Clara has yet to lose at home (granted the list of teams it’s played at home is a little lackluster with all five ranking outside the top 230 in KenPom).
The majority of teams the Aggies have faced thus far this year favored small-ball lineups, but Santa Clara is capable of playing truly massive lineups. In its most recent game, against New Mexico, the Broncos started a lineup of Adama-Alpha Bal, Carlos Marshall, Christoph Tilly, Johnny O’Neil and Francisco Caffaro — a group with three players of 6-foot-10 or taller and no players shorter than 6-foot-6.
That group hasn’t been the norm (it’s the only time this year they’ve gone with that group as the starters and is the eighth-most used five-man lineup by the Broncos) but the staggering size is something Utah State hasn’t faced much this year.
That size impacts the game in a number of ways, but rebounding is certainly one way the Broncos take advantage of having the fifth-tallest team on average in the country. They rank 45th in overall rebounding percentage and 47th in offensive rebounding percentage.
Along with the size, Santa Clara also has great shooting. It isn’t a top-flight shooting team overall, but the Broncos rank a very respectable 79th in 3-point percentage. Powering that rate is the trio of Marshall, Bal and Tyeree Bryan. The three combine to average just over 12 attempt from downtown per game with a combined 42.9 percentage on those attempts.
The Aggies have at times done rather well against 3-point shooting teams. As a whole, USU ranks 30th in 3-point defense with opponents to make just 27.9 percent of such attempts. Even previous opponents like Akron, Saint Louis and UC Irvine — all of which rank inside the top 80 in 3-point percentage, just as Santa Clara — have had mixed results against Utah State. Akron shot a pitiful 5 of 24 (20.8 percent), and while UC Irvine shot a high percentage, 38.5, the Anteaters only attempted 13 threes all game, greatly limiting the impact of those shots. Saint Louis is the one exception, having gone 10 of 24 (41.7 percent) against the Aggies, which led to the Billikens nearly mounting an impressive comeback victory.
“We’ve had some breakdowns,” Sprinkle said of his team’s 3-point defense, “where people have missed open shots and that’s stuff that we got to clean up. But I think our guards have done a good job using their length and athleticism to at least contest shots and make them score over us.”
Sprinkle added that his team will “have to have out best defensive game from a discipline standpoint” to be able to win this game.
Projected Starters
Utah State (9-1)
- G – Darius Brown (6-2, Sr.) – 9.9 points | 3.3 rebounds | 7.7 assists
- G – Mason Falslev (6-3, Fr.) – 12.7 points | 4.8 rebounds | 3.2 assists
- G – Ian Martinez (6-3, Jr.) – 10.1 points | 2.8 rebounds | 1.4 assists
- F – Great Osobor (6-8, Jr.) – 19.8 points | 9.0 rebounds | 2.8 assists
- C – Isaac Johnson (7-0, So.) – 7.1 points | 2.7 rebounds | 0.8 assists
Santa Clara (7-3)
- G — Jalen Benjamin (5-11, Sr.) — 6.7 points | 1.6 rebounds | 2.1 assists
- G – Adama-Alpha Bal (6-7, Jr.) – 14.6 points | 4.0 rebounds | 3.0 assists
- G – Carlos Marshall (6-6, Sr.) – 13.9 points | 6.2 rebounds | 1.7 assists
- F – Johnny O’Neil (6-10, Jr.) – 7.7 points | 4.6 rebounds | 1.6 assists
- C – Christoph Tilly (7-0, So.) – 9.1 points | 4.3 rebounds | 2.1 assists
Injuries
Utah State
- Max Agbonkpolo – Probable (Foot)
Agbonkpolo did not play against Northwest Nazarene due to inflammation of a lingering foot injury. He received treatment this week and has practiced with the team. Barring a setback it’s likely he’ll play.
