Logan • Unless a miracle happens, Utah State knows it won’t win the regular-season Western Athletic Conference title.
But, heading to Reno for Thursday night’s matchup against Nevada, the Aggies don’t want a championship. All they want is confidence, a chink in the Wolf Pack’s league invincibility, a sign that a run in March is entirely possible.
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Utah State at Nevada
At Lawlor Events Center (Reno, Nev.)Tipoff » Thursday, 8 p.m.
TV » None
Radio » 97.5 FM
Records » Utah State 12-10, 4-3; Nevada 18-3, 7-0
Series history » Utah State leads 32-13
Last meeting » Nevada, 78-71 (Jan. 7)
About the Aggies » Sophomore guard Preston Medlin is the reigning WAC player of the week. … The Aggies are 3-2 in their last five games. … USU has won just once on the road in conference play. … Utah State is 205-101 against current members of the WAC. … The Aggies have three of the top 10 field goal shooters in the league.
About the Wolf Pack » Nevada is on a 15-game winning streak. … The Wolf Pack are 7-0 in league play. … Nevada has the second longest active winning streak in the nation. … The Wolf Pack return all five starters. … Dario Hunt is averaging 10 points and nine rebounds a game.
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It won’t be easy. For Utah State, outrebounding Nevada will be almost impossible. But with the likes of Brockeith Pane and Preston Medlin, the Aggies think and hope they can compete. This is the second time the two schools have played. The Wolf Pack took the first matchup by a slim margin in Logan.
"Much of this depends on Kyisean Reed and whether he can stay out of foul trouble," USU coach Stew Morrill said. "Last time, they went right at him and he didn’t man up. He’s got to be more physical, or they’ll dominate him again, and that’s what we’ve been telling him all year. When we play in space like we did against San Jose State, he’s hard to stop. But when people get physical with him, he hasn’t responded, and he needs to do that. It’s time."
Brockeith Pane was good offensively against Nevada a month ago, but he struggled to contain Deonte Burton, who lit the Aggies up. Defending what many think is the best player in the league will be a huge key.
"It was my fault last time," Pane said. "I have to play better defensively against him."
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