Heading into Wednesday’s marquee mid-major matchup, Utah State had recently been the recipients of a gift from its fellow conference teams — a chance to control its destiny for a Mountain West regular season title. But those re-ignited hopes will fade back down in the wake of an 82-65 defeat at Boise State.
It’s the second-worst defeat by the Aggies this season, only trailing the 19-point loss to New Mexico in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum back on Feb. 1.
“Boise State was very, very physical. I though we got physically manhandled from start to finish,” USU head coach Jerrod Calhoun said. “We had a lot of bad turnovers. They dominated us on our cuts. They just bullied us around the rim. We got no leverage, no finishes. So you’ve got to credit Boise State. I though their fans, their team was ready to go. Aggies were not.”
Losses by New Mexico to Boise State and San Diego State meant the Aggies and Lobos were tied at the top of the Mountain West standings. It meant that even though USU had lost the season series, a share of the regular season conference title was in play if the Aggies won the remainder of their games. But perhaps the hidden trap for Utah State lay in the fact that it had to defeat the same Boise State team that was able to defeat New Mexico. And the Aggies had to do it in ExtraMile Arena, a venue where the Broncos have lost just once all season and boasted an average points differential of +17.5 in conference play.
When asked if he thought his players were considering the implications of this game, Calhoun simply said, “I think the guys were well aware of it.”
Last time Utah State and Boise State faced off, the Broncos had one of their better shooting nights of the season — especially for a road game. That quality shooting continued and in quick order. Within the first nine minutes of the game, Boise State made four 3-pointers, taking an early 17-9 lead. and holding that eight-point lead up to a 24-16 advantage with 9:48 left in the half. But in what would be Utah State’s best stretch of the game, it fought back to take the lead.
A combination of Boise State’s one notable cold spell and a decently efficient run of offense from the Aggies led to an 11-2 run, culminating with what would be USU’s last and final lead of the night, 27-26. A 3-pointer from Boise State gave the lead back to the Broncos and there it would stay, eventually grown to double digits in the second half.
There was no single devastating run from Boise State that extended the lead quickly. The 29-27 lead with four minutes to play in the first became 37-31 at halftime. Five minutes into the second half the lead was back to eight points. By the 12-minute mark it reached double figures for the first time, 52-41. Mason Falslev, who led the Aggies with 19 points (13 in the second half) tried to will the team back by making a couple of key shots to bring the lead back down to seven points but it wouldn’t be enough. Offense was in too short of a supply and defense even less so.
Down the stretch, in what were the last moments of the game where Utah State could mount a comeback, the offense seized up and the defense devolved into constant fouls. Over the final eight of the game, the Aggies made three field goal and committed eight fouls, yielding 12 points to the Broncos on free throws alone in that portion of the game. It was in that same period in which Boise State went from up 10 points to as many as 21.
For a second straight game against the Broncos, rebounding was an issue. Boise State out-rebounded Utah State by six in the first meeting and by seven (32-15) in this second matchup. Crucial in this stat were the 11 offensive rebounds that led to 12 second-chance points. It more so impacted the first half where Boise State had eight offensive boards that led to eight points, which more than accounted for the entire difference between the two squads at the break. In a further show of dominance inside the paint, the Broncos were a perfect 12-for-12 on shots at the rim and had 34 total points in the paint.
“We just have small guys. We don’t have big physical guys. So they got to throw their chest on people. Be active. And we got to stop people,” Calhoun said. “We don’t have the big 6-6, 6-7 guys like (Boise State) do that are big and physical. Tucker Anderson’s not very strong, needs a lot of strength. We just have smaller guys, we need to continue to build that for years to come because we’ve got five guards and we’re always, with this team, we’re gonna be a little bit smaller. So you got to play a little bit more physical and we just didn’t do that.”
Utah State overcame many of these same deficiencies in the first meeting with the Broncos largely on the strength of its own offense. And given recent form, that ought to have been something the Aggies were capable of doing. Over the previous five games, Utah State had averaged 89.0 points, shooting 53.8 percent from the field and 43.6 percent on 3-pointers. But Wednesday’s performance proved hot streaks can’t last forever. USU’s efficiency plummeted to 42.3 percent from the field (albeit with a decent 38.9 percent rate on 3-pointers). It’s a departure from form. And while Calhoun gave Boise State its props, he felt his team could have done more.
“I think you always have to credit your opponent. They had a lot to do with it. They were the tougher team tonight. Did we miss some open ones? Yeah. But the reality of is you gotta be able to manufacture points when you’re not shooting well,” Calhoun said. “Whether that’s getting to the rim. Whether that’s through the post, whatever the case may be, we were unable to do that tonight.”
The Aggies will have a relatively quick turnaround, taking the direct path to Fort Collins without a stop in Cache Valley where they’ll meet Colorado State for a 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday. Much like Boise State, the Rams have played significantly better at home than on the road. And while that game likely won’t have the same stakes, a win would give USU the inside track to secure the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Mountain West Conference Tournament in March. A loss could see USU tumble all the way to the four seed.
