Guard the paint: Joey Shaw had 18 and 9 on Thursday against Denver. Spencer Butterfield had 16 points and made the only 3 of the game for Utah State at home. NMSU leads the WAC in 2 point field goal percentage. Utah State is a good 3-point shooting team at 38 percent but if the Aggies take care of the paint I think they should be fine. Part of that is due to Renaldo Dixon and Sim Bhullar, who have led the Aggies to 141 blocked shots this season. One more blocked shot is a school record and Bhullar is just four blocks shy of setting a new mark for most blocked shots in a season. Bhullar had five blocks against Utah State in the first meeting
Go inside: NMSU shot 58 percent against Utah State in the first meeting with four players in double figures. Bhullar is too much for UTah State I believe. Shaw is the one big that is intriguing but after that, Utah State's front court isn't scary. Getting the UtAgs in foul trouble is also possible since Morrill said the team plays just eight.
Mullings vs. Butterfield: Daniel Mullings is accustomed to running through screens to shut a guy down. The only one that has had any success that I've seen is Idaho's Connor Hill. I don't even think Butterfield is as good as Hill. If Mullings make it difficult for Butterfield and nobody else gets off, NMSU should get out with a victory.
I thought NMSU matched up well with Utah State before Preston Medlin went down. Wasn't impressed with Butterfield, Jean or Roland but those are the guys the Aggies have to focus on now. Playing Denver close at home doesn't matter much to me because NMSU has proven to be a matchup nightmare for teams that play deliberate offensively. But it is in Logan and it's still a rivalry game.
NMSU wins 65-61
6 comments:
Dear Mr.Groves
Obviously you are not very good at predictions but you could possibly improve if you took off your crimson colored glasses.
Dear Anon 2:52,
Perhaps you could make that statement BEFORE the next game. Hindsight is ALWAYS 20/20 isn't it?
Losing by 3 in Logan isn't bad. As ESPN stated last night, they have one of the highest home winning percentages in college basketball.
JH
Jason, you missed predicting the winner of an Aggie for maybe your 3rd or 4th time this season and all of a sudden you're a bum. It must be the crimson colored colored glasses. NMSU got beat by a couple of kids that had a good game and the homecourt advantage. I thought the zone and press NMSU used was very effective but we just couldn't hit the shot to put us ahead. Utah State probably deserved the win and NMSU didn't play that bad. Remi had a good offensive game. The thing I want to talk about is the crowd. USU is down this year and is in 4th place in the WAC but you wouldn't know it from the crowd. I give a lot of credit to their fans. NMSU has a game coming up Saturday against UTEP and every year, UTEP fans are louder in Pan Am than Aggie fans. There is always way too much Orange at the game. I don't want to hear all the reasons why Aggie "fans" don't show up or students don't attend. The first step to beating a rival is filling the seats with fans and keeping the Minor fans away. It's time for the entire NMSU community to put up or shut up. Let's all wear crimson colored glasses.
For as poorly as they played, NMSU had plenty of opportunities to win. Miss two free throws and turn it over on a fast break at the end...those things make the difference between a tie or the lead at the end and losing the game. Remi played lights out; it was the first game that he played as an Aggie that he got close to his potential.
I haven't seen the Louisiana team play, but I think the Aggies have a great chance in the WAC tourney to make some noise.
One thing that concerns me is the fouls on Sim that aren't being called. Can coach Menzies start working the officials well before the next game, maybe send video, to show what's going on under the basket. Sure, there's going to be bumping and banging inside, but some of the stuff that has happened in the last three or four games is ridiculous. At Utah State, Sim got mugged and there weren't many calls. In the other direction, he got one that should have been a no call and a ticky-tacky one that even the ESPN announcers were talking about. Menzies needs to make some noise about the double standard.
The other thing that bothers me just a little is that Sim should be getting his hands on the ball almost each possession. He's a great passer and should be the focal point of the offense. At the very least, the Aggies should be using him as a decoy. There were some minutes during the game that Sim didn't get a touch. We need to make sure the ball gets inside and then straight to the hole or passed back out for the open 3.
Remi Barry could be the star of this team moving foward. I've never understood why Menzies doesn't play him more. Only when Watson was suspended did he start getting significant minutes.
Maybe he doesn't practice well or has issues with the coach, but this kid is talented and once he gets into a rhythm, he is very good. I hope he continues to get major minutes down the stretch because he is poised to play a prominent role next season.
Patrick NaySay
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