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LOGAN, Utah — After a tough trip to Cancun, Mexico over the Thanksgiving break that saw Utah State lose two games by an average margin of 22.5 points, the schedule doesn't get any easier.
The Aggies will take on in-state rival BYU at the Vivint Arena on Wednesday night in the 233rd meeting between the two teams. BYU leads the all-time series 140-92. USU head coach Tim Duryea knows that the Aggies have a tall task in front of them to slow down the Cougars, who are averaging over 90 points per game.
"BYU, like always, is a high-octane team," Duryea said. "They are averaging 90 points a game and have multiple weapons. They like to play at a fast pace and can hurt you from inside and outside. … They are always a handful. It will be a tall task as always.”
Coming off back-to-back losses to Purdue and Texas Tech at the Cancun Challenge, Duryea will rely on seniors Jalen Moore and Shane Rector to counter the BYU attack. Moore earned all-tournament team honors in Cancun while averaging 18.5 points per game.
The biggest thing the Aggies will have to do is slow down the BYU offense. Switching defenses will be part of the plan for Duryea and the Aggies along with playing straight up man-to-man defense to keep BYU guards Nick Emery and TJ Haws from having big nights. Emery is coming off a 37-point night in a loss to UVU on Saturday.
“I’m not sure how much you can slow them down," Duryea said. "You have to try and control the tempo. That doesn’t always mean play slow all the time, but run when we want to run and when the opportunity is there to run. And then play good, solid half-court basketball as well.
“You can also control the tempo by changing defenses, and that is something we have to do in this game. We have to be good in our zone and be good in our man and have to be able to play them both at different times in the game. That helps you control the tempo as well, along with your offensive philosophy.”
USU isn't the only team coming into the rivalry matchup off a loss. BYU was run out of the Marriott Center on Saturday night by Utah Valley. The Wolverines scored 114 points, which is the most ever allowed by the Cougars at the Marriott Center, on their way to the 114-101 win.
“When you play BYU you have to decide what you are going to give up," Duryea said. "If you take something away, then you have to give something up on the other end. … When you play as hard as UVU did and as well as UVU did, a lot of good fortune goes your way. … If you don’t score your ball when you play BYU, you can do a lot of other things well, but you are not going to hold them down enough to where you are going to score in the mid-60s and win the game.”
The Aggies will have to score to stay in the ballgame against the up-tempo Cougars, especially if they want to break the Cougars' four-game winning streak in the series. BYU has averaged over 80 points during that time. Either way, the rivalry continues on Wednesday night with both teams looking to get back in the win column.
Kyle McDonald is sports fan who loves the Chicago Cubs and the Utah Valley University Wolverines. He is a communication major at UVU and will graduate in the spring of 2017. Follow him on Twitter at @kylesportsbias
