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Logan • The tallest player in college basketball leads UC Irvine into the Spectrum on Saturday night.
Mamadou Ndiaye, a 7-foot-6 junior center from Senegal, will be patrolling the paint, protecting the rim and posting up on the block when the Anteaters challenge Utah State.
Ndiaye averages 11.4 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.6 blocks in only 23 minutes a game for UC Irvine, which is 6-3 this season. The Aggies are 5-2 after Wednesday night's 80-68 loss at BYU.
"UC Irvine gives you problems, being one of the biggest teams in the country," Aggie coach Tim Duryea said. "They are a very methodical offensive team that is really intent on throwing the ball to the low block."
When Ndiaye's "minutes have been going up, they play through him. They are determined to throw him the ball and make you defend him," said Duryea."He's a handful. He has really good hands for how big he is and gets a lot of deep catches close to the basket because of his size. He's a focal point of the offense when he comes in."
Ndiaye isn't UC Irvine's only inside force. Behind him, coach Russell Turner can go to 7-foot-2 junior center Iaonnis Dimokopoulos, who is from Greece.
"He's a very skilled low-post scorer as well," Duryea said. "They can play 40 minutes with a huge, low-post scoring threat at [center]."
Like most teams, Utah State can't possibly match the Anteaters' size near the basket. The Aggies' biggest starters have been 6-foot-9 center Elston Jones and 6-foot-9 forward Jalen Moore.
"We need to be physical for 40 minutes," Duryea said. "We'll use everybody we have. You try to keep the ball out of there as much as possible, but can only do that for a certain extent just because of the sheer size.
"When they do catch it, you want to be between them and the basket and not out of position, where they can catch and basically lead them in for dunks and layups. You want to try to avoid that."
The Utah State-UC Irvine game matches long-time PCAA and Big West Conference rivals who, in the realignment era, have not played since 2007. The Aggies and Anteaters have played 58 times, with Utah State winning 31 games. USU has played only 11 schools more than its has played UC Irvine.
Twitter: @sluhm —
Utah State vs. UC Irvine
P At the Spectrum
Tip-off • 7 p.m.
TV • ROOT
Radio • 610-AM, 97.5-FM, 95.9-FM, 102.1-FM
Records • Utah State 5-2, UC Irvine 6-3
Series • Utah State, 31-27
Last meeting • Utah State, 74-62 (2008)
About the Aggies • They have played one game — an 80-68 loss at BYU — in the last 11 days. … Their leading scorers are senior G Chris Smith (14.3) and junior F Jalen Moore (13.7). … They rank fourth in the Mountain West Conference in defense (67.9). … They are 5-0 when leading at halftime. … They are 4-0 when out-rebounding their opponent.
About the Anteaters • They come off a 70-60 loss at St. Mary's. … They have also lost to Mountain West Conference member Boise State (71-64). … They average 70.7 points a game. … They shoot 33.5 percent on three-pointers. .. Their top scorers are junior C Mamadou Ndiaye (11.4) and junior G Luke Nelson (11.4). Ndiaye is from Senegal. Nelson is from England.