 |
||||
  
 
 |
Utes have revenge on mind tonight vs. Aggies in Salt Lake City
By Wade Denniston
Utah State University got just what it needed before traveling Tuesday to the University of Utah for an in-state showdown with the Utes -- a tuneup in the form of the University of California at San Diego. After making short work of the Tritons, 82-58, Saturday night in the Spectrum, the Aggies will now focus on the Utes, a rematch Utah has more than likely been waiting for since losing in Logan last year, 62-54, when it was then ranked ninth in the nation. But USU isn't worried. In fact, the Tritons helped the Aggies prepare for the Utes by allowing them to play man-to-man the entire 40 minutes. "San Diego runs good motion," Utah State head coach Stew Morrill said. "If you noticed, we played all man-to-man the whole game because we really needed to work on it. We played a lot of match-up zone in Maui. We needed to work on our man-to-man (Saturday), and try and get it better because there's going to be a lot of games where we play primarily man-to-man, it just depends. "I thought it was good preparation in terms of trying to guard Utah's motion, (which is) so good, and lots bigger bodies, and a lot more skilled players running that motion." While the Aggies will seemingly be the underdogs against the Utes, they are optimistic about their chances of winning. "It's kind of a game where you measure yourself," junior center Dimitri Jorssen said. "Like against (the University of) Florida, they're a ranked team. You want to know where you're at, you want to go out and play, and see what you can do against the big dogs. See if you can run with them. I think we're going to be ready for that." USU will also be ready for a Utah team that is itching for a win against an in-state opponent, especially after its recent loss to Weber State University. "Coming off that loss against Weber, and knowing that we won against them last year, I'm sure they're going to be ready for us, definitely," Jorssen said. "We are going to prepare real hard tomorrow and Monday on what they're going to run. We're going to be ready for them too." This will be the 210th all-time meeting between Utah and Utah State, dating to the 1908-09 season. The Utes lead the overall series 122-87, and have won 12 of the last 16 meetings between the schools. This will be the most hostile environment USU will encounter away from home. The team has played in front of 7,200 fans combined in three games at the Maui Invitational and 946 fans at Northern Arizona University. "It's a big difference," Aggie junior forward Shawn Daniels said. "I've seen them play on TV, it's a real nice place to play. We're going to go out and give it our best." Tipoff is set for 7:05 p.m. at the Huntsman Center.
|
Archived Months:
September
1998 |
||