BYU will not enjoy its usual huge size advantage when it encounters Utah State tonight at the Marriott Center.
The Aggies (1-2) will put 7-footer Nathan Wickizer on the floor against BYU (3-2), and the Cougars are not equipped to handle guys that size as well as they have in recent years."He's 7-foot tall and he has a great touch," BYU coach Roger Reid said of Wickizer. "He presents a problem for us."
The problem is that BYU's tallest guy, 6-10 Russell Larson, isn't hefty enough to handle a wide body like Wickizer, while the guys who are wide enough - John Fish, Kenneth Roberts - aren't tall enough. Besides, Fish will probably miss another game with a sore back, and Larson's back ached enough that he missed practice Monday.
It may be that BYU's best bet to control Wickizer is to get him in foul trouble. He fouled out of 14 games last season.
Reid said that from what he could see of Utah State's game films under new coach Larry Eustachy, they aren't playing as uptempo as they did last year.
"They're really trying to utilize the halfcourt game more, with their big guys," Reid said. "We've got to do a good job defensively on their inside game."
The fact that the Aggies are just 1-2 doesn't cheer up Reid. He points out that they would be a respectable 2-1 if not for a loss to Weber State in a game the Aggies led until the final shot - a 35-footer.
As for his own team's 3-2 record, Reid knows it could easily be worse.
"I really feel good about it, especially after the fact, because I didn't realize how good Nicholls State and Oklahoma Baptist are," Reid said.
The game starts at 7:30.