Utah State vs UNLV preview: How to watch, projected starters, injuries

Utah State coach Ryan Odom talks to players during the first half of the team's NCAA college basketball game against Air Force at Air Force Academy, Colo., Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023. (Parker Seibold/The Gazette via AP)

LOGAN – The Aggies are reeling with two crushing road losses in their recent games but are still doing better than the once-lauded UNLV Rebels. After starting the year 10-0, UNLV has gone 2-5 including 1-4 in Mountain West play. Utah State has a chance to re-assert itself against a struggling opponent with the added benefit of playing at home where the Aggies have fared significantly better. And while the team has suffered multiple tough losses lately, Utah State hasn’t lost two games in a row this season.

How to watch

  • Tip-off: 7 p.m. MT
  • Location: Dee Glen Smith Spectrum | Logan, UT
  • TV Broadcast: Mountain West Network
  • Aggie GameDay Coverage on KVNU (102.1 FM/610 AM & KVNU mobile app): 6 p.m. MT
  • KVNU Aggie Call (102.1 FM/610 AM, KVNU mobile app): Immediately after game ends

Injuries

Utah State

G – Rylan Jones (Undisclosed) – OUT

UNLV

G – Elijah Parquet (Knee) – OUT

F/C – Isaiah Cottrell (Foot) – OUT

Projected Starters

Utah State (14-4, 3-2)

  • G – Steven Ashworth (6-1, Jr.) – 15.6 points | 3.3 rebounds | 4.2 assists
  • G – Max Shulga (6-4, Jr.) – 12.0 points | 4.9 rebounds | 4.4 assists
  • G/F – Sean Bairstow (6-8, Sr.) – 10.9 points | 4.2 rebounds | 2.2 assists
  • F – Taylor Funk (6-9, Gr.) – 14.2 points | 5.9 rebounds | 1.8 assists
  • C – Trevin Dorius (7-0, Sr.) – 5.2 points | 3.7 rebounds | 0.3 assists
  • 6th Man – Dan Akin (6-9, Gr.) – 11.9 points | 7.3 rebounds | 0.6 assists

UNLV (12-5, 1-4)

  • G – Elijah Harkless (6-3, Sr.) – 17.3 points | 4.6 rebounds | 3.5 assists
  • G – Justin Webster (6-3, Sr.) – 8.1 points | 2.1 rebounds | 0.8 assists
  • G – Keshon Gilbert (6-4, So.) – 12.4 points | 3.9 rebounds | 3.8 assists
  • G – Luis Rodriquez (6-6, Sr.) – 12.7 points | 5.9 rebounds | 1.4 assists
  • C – David Muoka (6-10, Sr.) – 5.1 points | 5.6 rebounds | 0.3 assists

Team Statistical Ranks

Stats and ratings are from Basketball Reference (except the NET ranking). All ranks are out of 363 Division I teams.

Utah State

  • Pace – 70.9 (86th)
  • Offensive Rating – 113.8 (20th)
  • Defensive Rating – 99.5 (173rd)
  • Field Goal % – 48.5 (21st)
  • 3-point % – 42.6 (1st)
  • Rebounding % – 53.5 (57th)
  • NET Rank – 34th

UNLV

  • Pace – 71.7 (55th)
  • Offensive Rating – 105.7 (145th)
  • Defensive Rating – 92.6 (39th)
  • Field Goal % – 44.3 (196th)
  • 3-point % – 34.2 (178th)
  • Rebounding % – 48.7 (282nd)
  • NET Rank – 79th

Summary

Tuesday’s matchup will be a bit of a classic battle of good offense against good defense. The Runnin’ Rebels own a top 40 defense while the Aggies are top 20 in offense. Utah State being at home won’t be too much inherent comfort as UNLV’s defense has definitely travelled with the team. The Rebels have also pulled off multiple solid wins away from home including a neutral site win against Washington State and, most notably, beating a then-ranked New Mexico team in The Pit.

UNLV plays a four guard starting lineup with four players standing 6-foot-6 and under alongside a traditional 6-foot-10 big. It’s not a lineup that lacks for size as no player is shorter than 6-foot-3 which allows the Rebels to have a versatile and aggressive defense. It’s a defensive unit that also ranks seventh in the country in steals per game.

“They’ll get up and guard you. They pressure everywhere,” USU head coach Ryan Odom said. “They’re going to be on our guards. They’re going to be on our forwards. They’re gonna try and steal it from our bigs in and around the basket. You get a defensive rebound they’re gonna try to steal it. They’re gonna pick you up full court. They’re an aggressive defensive team.”

They are also a team very willing to draw offensive fouls by taking charges.

“They’re one of the best I’ve seen this year at taking charges,” Odom said. “And so our guys are gonna have to be on balance and ready to stop when they’re driving into the lane.”

For the first time in a while the Aggies will face a team that plays at a relatively fast pace. The Runnin’ Rebels do actually run with the 55th-most possessions per game, which is around where Utah State stood in terms of pace before conference play when the Aggies faced several slow-it-down teams like Fresno State and Air Force. This could very well lead to a higher-scoring game with a lot of points scored quickly.

According to Odom, the Rebels’ offense is able to “feed off their defense” and get points in transition.

“In transition they’re dynamite,” Odom said. “When they’re able to get steals, get out and go. They’re very athletic. They have multiple finishers, multiple drivers. Big guys around the rim that can block shots and finish around the rim as well.” 

Both teams are coming off tough, though different, losses. Utah State had its collapse but UNLV suffered heartbreak in a different way. The Rebels had a three point lead over Colorado State with 2.9 seconds on the clock and the Rams had to inbound from their own baseline with no timeouts to get a shot off. Isaiah Stevens caught a three-quarter-court pass, turned around and hit a soccer throw-in style desperation 3-pointer from the UNLV logo to send the game into overtime. Stevens later hit a go-ahead 3-point jumper with 3.4 seconds left in overtime and the Rams pulled off the win 82-81.

“Tough loss (for UNLV) and obviously we’re coming off a tough loss, too. So, it’s two teams that’ll be hungry to get a win,” Odom said.

UNLV’s leading scorer, Elijah Harkless is a player the Aggies have faced before, but not in a Rebels’ uniform. Last year Harkless was with Oklahoma whom Utah State faced early in the 2021-22 season. Harkless was the fourth-leading scorer for the Sooners that year (10.0 points per game), one of four players to average double digit scoring for the balanced Oklahoma team. But for UNLV he is far and away the team’s leading scorer.

“He’s playing different than he did with (Oklahoma). He had a specific role there whereas here he’s an offensive focus. They count on him to score baskets and he does a really good job of reading the defenses at times and getting other guys shots as well.”

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