Coming Up This Week:
Idaho will hit the road for a pair of tough Western Athletic Conference matchups this week, the first of which will be at Utah State, where the Vandals have won just once in 14 tries. Wednesday's game, which tips at 8:05 p.m. (PST) will be televised nationally on ESPN2. Utah State won the first meeting this year at the Cowan Spectrum by a 60-48 margin. Idaho will wrap up the trip with a road game at Boise State on Saturday at 7:05 p.m. The Vandals will be looking to remove the bitter taste left over from last week's 77-67 overtime loss at the Cowan Spectrum.
Utah State
The Series:
Idaho and Utah State will meet for the 44th time on Wednesday. The Aggies hold a 31-12 edge in the series and a 13-1 advantage at home. USU has won 10 straight against Idaho and 26 of the last 29 meetings. Idaho's only win against Utah State at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum came by a 52-51 margin on March 1, 2003.
The Aggies:
Utah State is 16-6 overall and is tied for first in the WAC with a 6-2 conference record. The Aggies are on a six-game win streak after losing their first two WAC contests. USU is coached by Stew Morrill, who is in his 12th season at Utah State. The Aggies are the only WAC team Idaho has not beaten since joining the conference in 2005.
The Aggies rate as one of the most efficient teams in the NCAA. They boast the nation's sixth-best free-throw percentage (.765) and 3-point percentage (.416), and seventh-best assist-to-turnover ratio (1.44). They are 18th nationally in field goal percentage (.483) and 17th in scoring defense (59.7). They rank in the top one-third of the nation in scoring offense (73.3) without a single player in the top 250 in scoring.
Three Aggies average double-digit points, led by Tai Wesley's 13.0 per game on .561 shooting. Jared Quayle shoots .453 from long range and averages 12.0 points, while Nate Bendall averages 10.6 points on .578 shooting. Wesley also leads the team with 6.7 rebounds per game. Quayle's 93 assists and 23 steals for the year are also team highs.
Fun Facts:
Under head coach Stew Morrill, the Aggies hold a 170-13 (.929) record at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. Idaho is 1-13 all-time at USU with the lone win coming in 2003.
Live Coverage:
Wednesday's game is the second of four nationally-televised regular-season basketball games for Idaho. It will be broadcast live on ESPN2. Fans can also listen live to the game on the Vandal Radio Network or through VandalXtra, as Evan Ellis calls the action live from courtside.
