Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Utah State suffered a 93-66 defeat to Colorado State, marking consecutive losses.
- Coach Jerrod Calhoun highlighted issues in assists, shooting, and defense.
- The two-game losing streak may impact Utah State's NCAA Tournament prospects.
FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Utah State hangs its hat on effort, energy and efficiency. But none of those were present Saturday afternoon.
The Aggies were embarrassed in a road 93-66 loss to the Colorado State Rams, marking the first time they've lost two consecutive games and the most points they've allowed all season.
"Totally outclassed, outplayed, outcoached (us)," Aggies coach Jerrod Calhoun said. "I think this is on the whole entire organization. ... Disappointed on a lot of fronts."
Ian Martinez led the Aggies (24-6, 14-4 MW) with 17 points, while Dayton Albury contributed 12 points, and Jordy Barnes had 11 points.
Three weeks ago, it was the Aggies who built a big lead against the Rams and ended up winning despite some tense moments down the stretch.
"We got on them pretty good the first time around," Calhoun said. "Obviously, they bottled that up. They were ready to go. So much in sports is psychological, right? They, obviously, had the psychological advantage today."
Colorado State went on a 10-0 run to start the game, and extended that to an 18-2 lead while making its first five 3-point attempts. That trend continued for the entire first half as the Aggies trailed 48-22 at halftime after shooting just 26.9% from the field and allowing the Rams to shoot 65.4%.
The Aggies started the second half with more urgency and went on a 7-0 run, but the Rams answered with back-to-back 3-pointers that deflated Utah State.
The Aggies' deficit reached 30 points just five minutes into the second half and stayed around there for the remainder of the game. The Aggies tallied just eight assists and lost the rebound battle 30-25.
The loss brought Utah State's conference record to 14-4, which matches Colorado State. The Aggies are now third in the conference with just one game remaining in the regular season.
Utah State has lost the last two games by a combined 44 points. Calhoun listed a slew of issues he's seen lately that are concerning going forward.
"We're not getting assists, we're not making shots," Calhoun said. "Defensively, we're not rebounding, we're not guarding the ball, we're not communicating. There's a whole bunch that we have to get corrected."
Additionally, Utah State's two-game losing streak consists of two Quad 1 losses, which could hurt its NCAA Tournament resume. But Calhoun is more concerned about his team's play as of late rather than the metrics.
"They don't look at your last one week, they look at your whole body of work," Calhoun said. "So no, I'm not going to overreact, but, obviously, we need to get it together. You're never in until you hear your name called."
