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USU TO TAKE PART IN “BATTLEGROUND 2K19”
Aggies look to get back on track against Bulls.
Contact/Follow @MWCwire
Utah State looking to remain undefeated.
Who: USU Aggies vs USF Bulls
When: Wednesday 12/28/2019 at 5:45 PM MT
Where:Toyota Center: Houston, TX
TV: ESPN 3
Streaming: FuboTV – Get a seven-day free trial.
Radio: 1280 the Zone
Odds: USU -9.0
Spending a Thursday listening to @CoachSmith_USU on his debut on the @jimrome show. Pretty cool day when your dad gets a birthday shoutout from the jungle! #AggiesAlltheWayhttps://t.co/cg3Cuxr5QA
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) November 14, 2019
Wednesday morning is supposed to be nice and chilly in Logan, Utah. The temperature will hover around 4 degrees around sunrise. Luckily for the Utah State Men’s basketball team, they are traveling around the Southern portion of the United States this week. Wednesday night the Aggies take on the University of South Florida Bulls. This will be part of “Battleground 2K19” which is meant to raise awareness of child abuse around the country.
There is a total of 6 teams participating in the Battleground 2K19 event. This is a good opportunity for Utah State to matchup against teams that aren’t usually willing to play the Aggies. As an upper tier team of a mid-major conference, Utah State has a difficult time scheduling opponents from power conferences.
Southern Florida is part of the American Athletic Conference. So far this season the Bulls have played mediocre. Their overall record is 6-4. Their most impressive win has come against Drexel; while their most embarrassing loss came at the hands of IUPUI.
The Bulls are led in scoring by junior guard, David Collins. This season Collins is averaging 15.3 points per game. Collins scored a season high of 23 in the Bulls last outing versus Drexel. Another key player for the Bulls is senior guard Laquincy Rideau. Rideau is the second leading scorer for USF and also leads the team in assist with nearly 4 a game.
After losing…yet again… to BYU (yes I’m still not over it) Utah State will look to get back into their winning ways. Sophomore Neemias Queta will play in his third consecutive game of the season. Up until this point, Queta’s minutes have been restricted while rehabbing from a knee injury suffered over the summer.
If the Aggies hope to beat the Bulls they will need improved play from their star shooting guard, Sam Merrill. After an extremely lackluster performance against the Cougars, Merrill will look to bounce back. Overall this season he is averaging 17 points and 4 assists. During the month of December Merrill is shooting an abysmal 37% from the field.
The only player in the Mountain West to be averaging a double-double is Utah State sophomore forward, Justin Bean. He and Alphonso Anderson have been the starting big-men the past 3 games. Together the dynamic duo are averaging a combined 26.5 points and 17.1 rebounds per game. Look for the pair to keep things rolling against Southern Florida. They have been very consistent for the Aggies this season.
Overall, Utah State should win this game. As previously mentioned, they will need improved play from Merrill and the consistent play from Anderson and Bean in order to pull out a victory. Look for the Aggies to leave Houston victorious.
The Aggies will go to beautiful Sunrise Florida for a matchup against the Florida Gators on Saturday.
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