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LOGAN -- The Weber State Wildcats (5-5, 1-0 Big Sky) are traveling 60 miles north to Logan this week to take part in the Basketball Traveler's Invitational, hosted by in-state rival Utah State.
The Tournament, which tips off Monday and runs through Wednesday, showcases four teams including Cal State Fullerton, Morehead State (Kentucky), and Utah State.
The Wildcats are coming off a tough 72-63 loss against #23 UNLV in Las Vegas last week. The Wildcats struggled against a tough Rebel defense which held them to just 36 percent shooting from the field.
We didn't play well at UNLV, but we hung in there and played hard to the end, which makes me proud. Nobody dropped their head, nobody pouted. We just kept playing.
–WSU Head Coach Randy Rahe
Weber State was also unable to handle the explosiveness of the Rebel offense, which opened the game on a 20-6 run and led by as many as 17 points for the game.
Despite the loss, Head Coach Randy Rahe was still pleased with his team's effort against the Rebels.
"We didn't play well at UNLV, but we hung in there and played hard to the end, which makes me proud," complimented Rahe. "Nobody dropped their head, nobody pouted. We just kept playing."
For the first six games of the season, point guard Damian Lillard led the Wildcats in scoring, averaging almost 22 points a game, and had four straight 20+ scoring games in a row. Since then defenses have been locking down on him and against UNLV he scored a season-low eight points. The past three games he's been averaging just 10 points a game.
But with defenses zeroing in on Lillard, the Wildcats have had to find other scoring options and lately have proven they are more than just a one-man team.
Franklin Session has regularly been singled out by Coach Rahe as a ball of energy for the Wildcats. In the last three games he has been averaging 14 points and also added seven rebounds a game.
Center Steve Panos, who, if he plays all three games in the tournament will have played 100 games as a Wildcat, is averaging 13 points in the last three games and has been living from the free throw line. In those three games he's hit 21-27 from the charity stripe.
It's really going to test your toughness, your togetherness, what kind of team you have, what kind of resolve you have, to see if you can keep playing three days in a row. It's an opportunity to get better against really high-quality competition. We're excited about it.
–Rahe
Kyle Bullinger, who had been struggling to find his rhythm, found it against UNLV having a break out game scoring 21 points. He is averaging nearly 12 points a game in the last three games with 50 percent shooting from the field.
The Wildcats will be looking to their whole team to help win this tournament.
"This will be a difficult task next week, but all four teams are in the same boat so we need our bench players to be ready to play a lot of minutes and contribute," said Rahe. "There won't be much rest for anyone."
The Wildcats will open the tournament facing the Titans of Cal State Fullerton, Monday night at 5:30 p.m. in The Spectrum. The Titans are coached by former University of Utah assistant coach Bob Burton. The Titans have at least one signature win this season; a 68-65 double-overtime win against UCLA on the road in Pauley Pavilion. The Titans are led by 6 foot 4 inch senior guard Aaron Thompson, who is a huge shooting threat. Thompson is shooting 61 percent from inside the 3-point line and 63 percent outside of it. He had 22 points in the win over UCLA and is averaging twelve points a game on the season.
"Coach Burton has done a tremendous job of getting that program back into a contender in the Big West Conference," Said Rahe. "They play very similarly to UNLV. They like to get up and down the court offensively and pressure you on the defensive end. I am impressed with their ability to shoot the ball and they do it from all over the court."
The Wildcats will have very little time to recuperate as they will play the Eagles of Morehead State the following day (Tuesday, Dec. 22) at 5:30 p.m.
The Eagles are coached by Donnie Tyndall and last season Tyndall coached the Eagles to 20-16 record. Morehead State won the Ohio Valley Conference and earned an NCAA Tournament bid.
Morehead State is led by 6 foot 8 inch center Kenneth Faried. Faried is currently the second leading rebounder in NCAA Division I with an average of 13 rebounds a game. He is also an offensive threat averaging nearly seventeen points a game.
Demonte Harper, a 6 foot 4 inch junior guard, will also be threat to the Wildcats averaging 12 points and two assists a game.
Weber State doesn't know much about Morehead State, but knows that they will present a challenge.
"We haven't seen a lot of them. But from what I have seen they appear to be every bit as good as they have been talked about in our coaching circles," said Rahe. "Kenneth Faried is just a monster rebounder. He gets everything which bounces his way and more.
Weber State will than play longtime rival Utah State on Wednesday at 8 p.m. in the Spectrum. These teams met at the start of the season and Utah State escaped Ogden with a 66-60 win.
With the win, Utah State extended its overall lead in the series 36-25 and has won nine of the last 11 meetings.
The Spectrum is one of the most feared arenas to play in the nation, and the Aggies had a 37-game winning streak, one of the nation's longest, until earlier this month when Saint Mary's ended it with a 68-63 win.
Playing in the Spectrum will prove to be an arduous task for the Wildcats who have played there 29 times and have left only eight times the victor; the last win coming in the 1993-1994 season.
The Aggies are led by 6 foot 7 inch junior forward Tai Wesley, who is averaging 13 points and six rebounds a game. Senior guard Jared Quayle is right behind averaging nearly 12 points and four assists. Aggie center Nate Bendall is the team's leading rebounder with seven a game; he also averages 10 points a game.
The Aggies will be looking to use the same aggressive defense they have used all season long, holding opponents to just under 40 percent from the field, while they are shooting over 45 percent on the opposite end.
Rahe knows how solid of a team Utah State is, and the dangers they present.
"They are fundamentally about as sound as any basketball team you will watch this season. They have scoring weapons at all five court positions which makes defending them extremely difficult," Rahe said. "You almost have to pick your poison and try to put a tourniquet around the rest. They play tough defense; they are aggressive rebounders and they don't miss free throws."
The tournament will be able to give Weber State one final test before Big Sky action starts back up.
"It's really going to test your toughness, your togetherness, what kind of team you have, what kind of resolve you have, to see if you can keep playing three days in a row," said Rahe. "It's an opportunity to get better against really high-quality competition. We're excited about it."
