The Utah State men’s basketball team has whole lot of questions that still need to be answered, but at least the Aggies finally know when and where they will play their first game of the 2020-21 season.
Probably.
In the age of COVID-19, it seems that the only certainty is uncertainty. But if USU’s latest plan holds, the Aggies will open the season against Wichita State on Nov. 25 in the Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic in South Falls, South Dakota.
“With (Justin) Bean and (Neemias) Queta back to just start off their program, they’re going to be good again. Those are two really good players, and the pieces around them that he has coming back … they’re going to be competitive.” — SDSU head coach Brian Dutcher on USU
The three-day, eight-team tournament at the Sanford Pentagon also includes Saint Mary’s, West Virginia, Texas A&M, Memphis, Creighton and South Dakota State, and the multi-team event replaces the canceled Myrtle Beach Invitational on Utah State’s original nonconference schedule.
“We are absolutely thrilled to be in this event,” USU head coach Craig Smith said of the Crossover Classic. “It’s going to be first class in every shape and form. Obviously having coached at the University of South Dakota for four years, we played in the Sanford Pentagon I think five times in those four years. It’s a world-class venue; it’s one of the most unique venues I’ve ever set foot in.
“It’s a cool, cool venue. Our guys are going to love playing there.”
Smith shared some of his thoughts on the upcoming season Thursday morning during Mountain West Men’s Basketball media days, a two-day-long virtual event that featured all 11 head coaches and one player from every program.
The Aggies, who went 26-8 and won the Mountain West tournament last season before the coronavirus shut down sporting events across the country, were predicted to finish third in the preseason media poll. Utah State finished with two first-place votes and 177 total votes, behind Boise State (four first-place votes and 188 total votes) and last year’s regular season champion, San Diego State (14 first-place votes and 211 total votes).
Similar to the Aggies graduating Sam Merrill, the second-leading scorer in school history, the Aztecs lost 2020 Mountain West Player of the Year Malachi Flynn, along with guard KJ Feigan and forward Yanni Wetzel. But SDSU head coach Brian Dutcher still likes his team heading into 2020-21.
“I love our experience,” Dutcher said. “I want to stay old, and we have two fifth-year seniors, three regular seniors, three juniors and a sophomore that are going to be counted on this year. And with that being said, I have three really good freshmen.
“We’ve got talent, we’ve got depth and now we have to see if we can play like a team at both ends of the floor.”
The Aztecs went 30-2 last season, including 17-1 in conference play, before their season came to end in the championship game of the Mountain West tournament. Ranked fifth in the country at the time, San Diego State was upset by the Aggies, 59-56, on the strength of a deep 3-pointer by Merrill with just over two seconds left.
But even without Merrill and his backcourt mates Abel Porter and Diogo Brito, Dutcher still anticipates the Aggies being a contender this season.
“You know, Craig’s doing what we pride ourselves with doing at San Diego State — they’re not a one-hit wonder,” Dutcher said. “We have a program, and so while the faces change, the base is there. And he’s got a great base.
“And with (Justin) Bean and (Neemias) Queta back to just start off their program, they’re going to be good again. Those are two really good players, and the pieces around them that he has coming back … they’re going to be competitive.”
A junior center, Queta was named to the MW’s preseason all-conference team, along with senior Boise State guard Derrick Alston Jr., sophomore Colorado State guard Isaiah Stevens, senior San Diego State forward Matt Mitchell and junior UNLV guard Bryce Hamilton.
Alston, who averaged 13.4 points per game last season, was selected as the conference’s preseason player of the year, while UNLV guard Nick Blake was tabbed as freshman of the year and junior UNLV guard David Jenkins, a transfer from South Dakota State, as newcomer of the year.
Now in his third season at Utah State, Smith is trying to integrate seven newcomers onto the USU roster, not including two players, Virginia transfer Marco Anthony and freshman forward Liam McCheseny, who sat out last season. But the fresh faces got a look at what is possible Wednesday afternoon when Smith and USU athletic director John Hartwell presented the veterans with a review of their second straight Mountain West tournament title.
“We just decided to do it at the spur of the moment,” Smith said. “We did it inside the Spectrum and played ‘One Shining Moment’ while replaying our highlights from the season. And man, it never gets old. It gets really emotional quite frankly, through the ups and downs of the season. So, there were a lot of tears of joy shared yesterday.”
One big question the Aggies are facing heading into the season is who is going to start at point guard considering Porter and Brito played most of the minutes there the past two years, with Merrill also taking over that role quite a bit late last year. Anthony is the most likely option, but Smith said, “It will be a little bit by committee.”
“We’re still duking it out to see who is going to take the reins at that spot,” he added.
Of course, the Aggies will have their hands full right from the start with their addition to the field of the Crossover Classic. The Shockers went 23-8 last season under Gregg Marshall, who is reportedly on his way out following recent allegations of physical and verbal abuse of his players.
If the Aggies beat Wichita State in the opener, they will play the winner of Creighton-South Dakota State on Thanksgiving Day.
The original slate of teams for the Crossover Classic announced in mid-October included Utah, Ohio State and Dayton. The Utes pulled out when COVID-19 cases skyrocketed in South Dakota, while the Buckeyes and Flyers backed away after the state of Ohio mandated a 14-day quarantine for residents leaving the state.
At the moment, a limited number of fans will be allowed at the tournament, which will be broadcast on ESPN and ESPN2.
The Aggies have yet to announce the rest of their schedule due to the Mountain West’s announcement on Monday that rather than a traditional, 18-game schedule, members of the league will play a 20-game schedule beginning in December. The altered format will have a visiting team playing a home team twice in three days, reducing the amount of travel and creating flexibility to reschedule games postponed due to COVID-19.
“We were very patient once the Myrtle Beach tournament got shut down,” Smith said. “We had irons in the fire all over the place. In fact, our nonconference schedule still isn’t done and our league schedule is in the process of getting finalized. Obviously we had to pivot late last week, and now we’ve got to cut two games, so to speak. So, it’s a work in progress.”
While Utah State has yet to release its schedule, BYU did announce Thursday afternoon that the Cougars are scheduled to visit the Spectrum in Logan on Dec. 5.