Tag: Max Shulga

Max Shulga withdraws commitment to Villanova, will return to VCU

Villanova lost a commitment from Max Shulga, who decided to stay at VCU after initially entering the NCAA transfer portal.

Less than three weeks after pledging to play for the Villanova Wildcats, guard Max Shulga announced he will instead return to VCU for his fifth and final season of college basketball eligibility.

Shulga reportedly never wanted to leave VCU in the first place, having played all four college seasons under coach Ryan Odom – three at Utah State and last season with the Rams in the A10. When VCU was able to up their NIL offer, the 6’4 Ukrainian guard opted to return instead – leaving Villanova coach Kyle Neptune without his projected lead guard.

Shulga averaged 14 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.6 assists last year for the Rams, shooting 41.5% from three on nearly six attempts per game. His return should help VCU compete for the top seed in the A10 and an NCAA Tournament berth.

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For Villanova, they are now looking at a roster with only one returner who averaged more than one point per game last year in Jordan Longino (6.6) unless Eric Dixon opts to return from the NBA draft process.

Neptune landed a pair of local transfer guards in Tyler Perkins from Penn and Jhamir Brickus from La Salle, but for this team to even finish in the top half of the Big East they’ll need to make a big splash – potentially in the form of former Miami guard Wooga Poplar, a Philadelphia native who was on campus recently.

NCAA Tournament Round of 64: No. 7 Missouri vs. No. 10 Utah State First Look At The Tigers

NCAA Tournament Round of 64: No. 7 Missouri vs. No. 10 Utah State First Look At The Tigers Who are the Tigers? Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire Utah State receives an at-large bid and No. 10 seed after run to MWC title game. There they find …

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NCAA Tournament Round of 64: No. 7 Missouri vs. No. 10 Utah State First Look At The Tigers

Who are the Tigers?

Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire

Utah State receives an at-large bid and No. 10 seed after run to MWC title game. There they find SEC for Missouri.

After a stunning run to the Mountain West Tournament Championship game last Saturday. The Utah State Aggies, who fell short against the regular season & tournament champion San Diego State, are still going dancing.

Having the conference rated so highly since very early on in the season certainly helped the Aggies Case on selection Sunday. After successfully navigating a non-conference slate with quality wins over San Francisco & Oral Roberts. The only blemish Utah State had to overcome was a 75-72 loss to Weber State at home in mid-December.

It was never a guarantee for Ryan Odom’s group but hearing the Aggies name called as a No. 10 seed Sunday was just the right amount of reassurance for this great Utah State team. They drew SEC opponent Missouri in their first round matchup, here is a little about the Tigers.

Who Are The Tigers

Coach

The Tigers are led by first year head coach Dennis Gates. A former California guard who got his first head coaching gig in the Midwest at Cleveland State.

There he led the Vikings to back to back Horizon League regular season titles. Also winning two Coach of the Year awards and making a trip to the big dance (the programs 3rd ever) and NIT. It was impressive enough to make the jump to the SEC last offseason.

Prior to his arrival, his predecessor had taken the Tigers to two NCAA Tournaments and has Missouri ranked in the top-10 just a season prior before stumbling to a 12-21 (5-13) finish. Back in the big dance in just year one has fans in Columbia jumping with excitement for the future.

Star Players

Sr. G-Kobe Brown (6-8, 250)

Stats: 15.8 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.5 SPG & 44.7% from three

Gr. G-D’Moi Hodges (6-4, 188)

Stats: 14.8 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 2.6 SPG, 1.6 APG & 40.1% from free

Gr. G-DeAndre Gholston (6-5, 215)

Stats: 10.7 PPG, 2.3 RPG & 1.8 APG

How Did They Get Here

The Tigers secured an at-large bid by giving a very convincing non-conference performance. This as well as battling it out in the ever demanding SEC. Their resume began to truly take shape in late December. During the Holiday Break, Missouri managed to secure back to back wins over two top-25 ranked opponents.

Routing the No. 16 Illinois Fighting Illini in a neutral site cross border rivalry game in St. Louis. While then kicking off conference play against No. 19 ranked Kentucky squad, with a double digit win in Columbia.

Coach Gate’s squad then navigated their way throughout uber-competitive SEC. With wins over Arkansas, securing the sweep of a top-5 Tennessee Vols team and adding another top-25 win over Iowa State. Who themselves competed in the highest rated league in the nation in the Big 12.

The Tigers resume was stamped with a loss to eventual SEC Tournament champions Alabama last week. But the committee looked at an exciting Missouri team who could hang with the best of them and awarded them a No. 7 seed.

Biggest Wins

Neutral Site-No. 16 Illinois 93-71

Home Against-No. 19 Kentucky 89-75

@-No. 5 Tennessee 86-85

NET: 42nd

KenPom: 51st

RPI: 34th

Larry Muniz covers college basketball as a writer for Mountain West Wire and WAC Hoops Digest. Also as a co-host of the college basketball podcast “Hoops Talk W/Jay & Larry”. He is also a USWBA Member.

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San Diego State vs. Utah State MWC Championship: Keys to an Aggie Win

Mountain West Championship: Keys to a Utah State Aggies Win Ryan Odom looking for first tournament title at Utah State. Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire The Utah State Aggies are primed to cut down the nets in Las Vegas Saturday afternoon. …

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Mountain West Championship: Keys to a Utah State Aggies Win

Ryan Odom looking for first tournament title at Utah State.

Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire

The Utah State Aggies are primed to cut down the nets in Las Vegas Saturday afternoon.

Ryan Odom has managed to harness the same magic in Mountain West that his predecessor Craig Smith found before him. Utah State is enjoying a March Madness run everyone dreams of.

After downing New Mexico in the quarter finals. And taking care of a more troublesome Boise State last night to advance to their first championship game since 2021. Utah State has to take down one of the Mountain West’s best in order to cut to down the nets inside the Thomas & Mack Center on Saturday.

But no need to steady any nerves. As the Aggies have been here before, against the same opponent. Both now seeking their third tournament championship in six years.

San Diego State and Utah State have been two of the more dominant programs in the Mountain West in recent years. This is the Aztec’s fifth straight championship game appearance. Securing two conference titles during that span, one of which came against Utah State back in 2021.

While the Aggies have enjoyed similar success, with three straight title game appearances from 2018-2021. All meetings with the Brian Dutcher’s Aztecs, securing back to back titles during the first two years of coach Smith’s tenure at Utah State.

Now coach Odom gets a chance to make his mark on the Mountain West and bring some hardware back to Logan in the process. The only thing standing in the way is an Aztecs team that swept the Aggies en route to a regular season championship.

Utah state’s strengths

The Aggies have rallied behind leading scorer and floor general Steven Ashworth this season. As the junior guard has enjoyed a breakout season, earning all-Mountain West 1st-team honors this week from the conference’s coaches. After being snubbed by in the media’s selections days prior.

Ashworth’s 16.5 PPG, 4.7 APG & 1.2 SPG (all team highs) in 32.9 MPG this season leads the way for what may be the best offense in the entire conference.

The Aggies boast a league leading 17.1 APG, thanks to an overwhelming amount of depth. With five different players averaging 10.4 PPG or higher. Including the unanimous Mountain West 6th Man of the Year Dan Akin coming off of the bench to average 12.3 PPG & 6.8 RPG (team high) in just 27.1 MPG.

The addition of Akin this offseason from the transfer portal (California Baptist) speaks to the depth in scoring and size coach Odom utilizes every game. With players who can score inside (54.6 2P%, top-50 in the nation), at the line (15.1 made FTs a game, top-50 in the nation) or from beyond the arc (40.4%, 2nd in the nation).

This combination of size, depth and scoring ability sets the Aggies apart. Not to mention a team chemistry likely only rivaled by San Diego State. Utah State is primed to earn their first conference tournament championship of the Ryan Odom era.

To do this they’ll need to do three things:

Take and make the three-As mentioned the Aggies do this better than anyone in the Mountain West. Including Ashworth who knocks them down at a rate of 45.4%, 5th in the entire country. But the Aztecs hold their opponents to just 29.7% from three, including Utah State. Who were kept to just 29.7% from deep in both of their regular season losses to San Diego State this season.

Handle the ball efficiently-The Aztecs hold their opponents to a league leading and top-50 in the nation scoring average of just 63.8 PPG. They do so with above average and extremely efficient defensive metrics at all three levels of scoring.

Forcing teams to take contested shots and forcing turnovers to create wasted possessions. For a team of Utah State’s caliber handling the ball, they’ll need a near perfect performance to not fall victim to that defense.

Play both sides of the ball-We know the Aggies can score it, but they aren’t necessarily defensive slouches either. While the Aztecs are known for their defense, they have 4-5 players of their own that can take over a game offensively themselves.

Just ask Adam Seiko, San Diego State’s 8th leading scorer, but who enjoyed a season high 25-points with 7-9 made threes against Utah State on January 25th. It’s going to take everything Utah State has left in the tank, but if there was ever a time to run down to empty, it’s Saturday afternoon.

Larry Muniz covers college basketball as a writer for Mountain West Wire and WAC Hoops Digest. Also as a co-host of the college basketball podcast “Hoops Talk W/Jay & Larry”. He is also a USWBA Member.

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