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LOGAN -- The Utah State men’s basketball team is finally opening up league play. After beginning the year 8-6 the Aggies will welcome the Fresno State Bulldogs into the Dee Glen Spectrum Thursday night to tip-off conference play.
The Aggies are coming off a close loss to No 14 Mississippi State, 66-64, while Fresno State (7-8) is currently on a three-game winning streak, having recently defeated Boise State in Fresno, 72-59.
Senior guard Steven Schepp had a career-game against the Broncos with 18 points to go along with seven assists. Schepp averages 4.7 assists per game.
The Bulldogs go to player is sophomore guard Kevin Olekaibe, who is averaging 18.7 points per game to go along with 3.6 rebounds.
"He is so quick, he shoots three's and then goes by you and gets fouled," Utah State basketball coach Stew Morrill said. "He kind of has a green light and they are playing a lot up-tempo. He is one of the guys that really has a green light for them."
It will be a great challenge for the Utah State guards defending Olekaibe.
Schepp and Olekaibe are not the Bulldog’s only talented guards, senior Jonathan Wills leads the team with 5.0 rebounds and trails only Olekaibe with 11.5 points per game.
A pair of guards in sophomore Preston Medlin and senior Brockeith Pane leads the Aggies on the court. Pane and Medlin are team leaders in points and assists with Pane averaging 11.1 and 3.5, while Medlin averages 14.4 and 3.3.
Following the lead of the Aggie guards is a pair of fantastic forwards in senior Morgan Grim and junior Kyisean Reed. Grim leads the team with 7.3 rebounds per game, while Reed provides support off the bench as he averages 10.0 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.
Against Mississippi State Medlin paced the Aggies with 15 points but it was sophomore guard/forward Danny Berger who took the potential game-winning 3-pointer that bounced around the rim before bouncing out.
When Fresno State comes into town Thursday, Utah State will need to be focused and ready for a battle. The Aggies have been playing very well on defense lately and that will need to continue. Eight of the Aggies 14 opponents have shot less then 40 percent from the field and that bodes well for the four-time defending WAC Champions.
"Defense wins championships and when we have won championships we have been good defensively,“ Morrill said. ”That is something that we believe strongly in and it is a combination of our man and our zone. Our guys are trying to help each other and they understand the emphasis and we are doing a pretty solid job. We will see if we can continue to do that.”
Justin McKissick is a KSL.com contributor originally from the San Francisco Bay Area. He is currently seeking a Communications degree. Justin has been covering USU sports since 2011. Follow him on Twitter: @justin_sr.
