Utah State hopes to avoid letdown in Hawaii
February 25th, 2010 @ 4:20pm
By Tyler Huskinson, KSL.com Contributor
HONOLULU -- After a huge non-conference victory at home against Wichita State, the Utah State Aggies play their final road game of the regular season against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors on Thursday. The Aggies (22-6, 11-2 WAC) have won five straight on the road and they are riding a 12-game winning streak. The Warriors (9-17, 2-10 WAC) are struggling as of late, losing nine of their last 10 games.
Aggie Head Coach Stew Morrill said the dismal Warrior record can be thrown out the door: "I have been to Hawaii enough to know they can beat you over there no matter what."
The Aggies defeated the Warriors in Hawaii during the 2008-'09 season, but that has been there only victory on the Big Island since joining the WAC.
When the two teams met in the Spectrum this season, the Aggies pounded the Warriors, 98-54. The Aggies scored 54 points in the first half alone and finished the game shooting 61 percent from the field and 68 percent from beyond the 3-point arc. It was this game that started the Aggies' current winning streak, and the Warriors may be looking for revenge from the Jan. 11 blowout.
"Who knows whether that is a motive for them," Morrill said. "It shouldn't be. They have enough motives with us coming in and leading the league. They are trying to make the tournament."
The Warriors are fighting for their tournament lives, currently tied in last place with Boise State. Only the top eight teams are allowed in the Western Athletic Conference tournament, and there are nine teams in the conference. According to Morrill, the Warriors definitely have the personnel.
"They are a physical bunch," Morrill said. "They are hard to keep off the boards and you better be ready to play. Roderick (Flemings) is tough. If we allow him to get 39 (points) like he did the other night, we'll probably lose because we only score about 60. That wouldn't be a good combination."
Flemings leads the Warriors with 16.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game and was named the WAC Player of the Week for the week of Feb. 15-21. Junior guard Dwain Williams is right behind Flemings, averaging 14 points per game.
Although the Aggies are only 1-3 all time at Hawaii, Morrill said his players are ready to go.
"Our team is in a good frame of mind," Morrill said. "We have practiced pretty well. Hopefully we can keep playing good basketball. That is what we need to do."
Playing good basketball this season for the Aggies has meant solid defense and a balanced offensive approach. "We have got good players. You don't win without good players. At any point one of them can step up and gets it going a little bit; that is what you need to have happen," Morrill said. "Fortunately it has been a different guy on a lot of different occasions. That makes you hard to predict and hard to guard. We have had awfully good balance lately and it goes seven deep. "I think our defense is sometimes over looked through the years. I guess people think of the complexity of our offense, but our defense has been really solid this year. " Tip-off against the Warriors is slated for 10 p.m. in the Stan Sherriff Center in Honolulu.
February 25th, 2010 @ 4:20pm
By Tyler Huskinson, KSL.com Contributor
HONOLULU -- After a huge non-conference victory at home against Wichita State, the Utah State Aggies play their final road game of the regular season against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors on Thursday. The Aggies (22-6, 11-2 WAC) have won five straight on the road and they are riding a 12-game winning streak. The Warriors (9-17, 2-10 WAC) are struggling as of late, losing nine of their last 10 games.
Aggie Head Coach Stew Morrill said the dismal Warrior record can be thrown out the door: "I have been to Hawaii enough to know they can beat you over there no matter what."
The Aggies defeated the Warriors in Hawaii during the 2008-'09 season, but that has been there only victory on the Big Island since joining the WAC.
When the two teams met in the Spectrum this season, the Aggies pounded the Warriors, 98-54. The Aggies scored 54 points in the first half alone and finished the game shooting 61 percent from the field and 68 percent from beyond the 3-point arc. It was this game that started the Aggies' current winning streak, and the Warriors may be looking for revenge from the Jan. 11 blowout.
"Who knows whether that is a motive for them," Morrill said. "It shouldn't be. They have enough motives with us coming in and leading the league. They are trying to make the tournament."
The Warriors are fighting for their tournament lives, currently tied in last place with Boise State. Only the top eight teams are allowed in the Western Athletic Conference tournament, and there are nine teams in the conference. According to Morrill, the Warriors definitely have the personnel.
"They are a physical bunch," Morrill said. "They are hard to keep off the boards and you better be ready to play. Roderick (Flemings) is tough. If we allow him to get 39 (points) like he did the other night, we'll probably lose because we only score about 60. That wouldn't be a good combination."
Flemings leads the Warriors with 16.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game and was named the WAC Player of the Week for the week of Feb. 15-21. Junior guard Dwain Williams is right behind Flemings, averaging 14 points per game.
Although the Aggies are only 1-3 all time at Hawaii, Morrill said his players are ready to go.
"Our team is in a good frame of mind," Morrill said. "We have practiced pretty well. Hopefully we can keep playing good basketball. That is what we need to do."
Playing good basketball this season for the Aggies has meant solid defense and a balanced offensive approach. "We have got good players. You don't win without good players. At any point one of them can step up and gets it going a little bit; that is what you need to have happen," Morrill said. "Fortunately it has been a different guy on a lot of different occasions. That makes you hard to predict and hard to guard. We have had awfully good balance lately and it goes seven deep. "I think our defense is sometimes over looked through the years. I guess people think of the complexity of our offense, but our defense has been really solid this year. " Tip-off against the Warriors is slated for 10 p.m. in the Stan Sherriff Center in Honolulu.
