There is no doubt the Aggies are facing the toughest stretch to date of the schedule.
Coming off their first mens basketball loss of the season, it is now on the road for three straight games.
And against challenging opponents in each contest for Utah State.
We all are very disappointed, but they have treated practice well, USU head coach Jerrod Calhoun said Friday before practice.
Its not fun.
Two of the worst things are injuries and losing.
Those are two things that make me, keep me up at night.
Weve got to understand that this three-game stretch is really going to have an impact on your chances to make the NCAA Tournament.
The Aggies (10-1) begin this gauntlet run on Sunday at Saint Marys (10-2).
Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.
The game is on ESPN+, which requires a subscription.
We need to come in with a good mind frame, and I need to motivate, Calhoun said.
The guys have been very good.
USU is coming off its first setback of the 2023-24 campaign, falling at home to UC San Diego on Tuesday, 75-73.
The Aggies had been off to their best start in program history with 10 straight wins.
After Saint Marys, USU will face No.
23 San Diego State and then Nevada.
While the Aggies have had success away from home, they have not played a true road game.
Sunday will be the first as the other three away games were at neutral sites.
Starting point guard Drake Allen went down early in the game against UC San Diego on Tuesday and did not return.
His right shoulder was injured.
They are saying right now four or five weeks, but Im hoping three or two, Calhoun said.
He does not need surgery.
Its rehab, making sure he is comfortable, making sure the doctor signs off.
We want to make sure he cant injure it further.
...
We are hoping that by week four we can get him back Everybodys body recovers differently.
Calhoun said the injury was pretty nasty when he looked at Allen on the court after it happened.
The shoulder was out of the socket.
Allen had started the first 11 games.
Before the injury, he was averaging 6.9 points, 2.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.2 steals a game.
Allen brought lots of experience as a graduate who had played at the junior college level and two other Division I schools.
Sophomore guard Braden Housley, who transferred from Southern Utah, was lost for the season after just three games with a foot injury.
Calhoun said he expects to get a medical redshirt for the 6-foot-4 guard.
But who will start in Allens place? It will be Jordy (Barnes) and Deyton (Albury), but who we start we dont know yet, Calhoun said.
Both kids present great attributes.
Both guys are aware they have to pick it up, and they know their minutes are going to go up.
Drake brought a steadiness.
It really hurt us in that game (against UC San Diego) because Drake can get the ball to Ian (Martinez) and Mason (Falslev).
Everything kind of went bad when you lose your point guard early in the game.
Youve got to figure things out offensive and defensively.
I feel good about both point guards we have and we will play it by committee.
Albury is a senior transfer, while Barnes is a true freshman.
Both have played in all 11 games.
Albury is averaging 4.5 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 0.6 steals a game, while averaging 15.8 minutes.
Barnes is playing 12.9 minutes and averaging 1.5 points, 1.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.6 steals an outing.
Everything that Drake did, these two are going to have to do now, Calhoun said.
With Barnes being a true freshman, it has seemed he has been hesitant to shoot the ball.
The head coach said he talked with Barnes and they have gone over how he needs to be a leader, which includes scoring and getting to the foul line, as well as distributing the ball.
We thought two months ago that he was going to redshirt, Calhoun said of Barnes.
He has grown so much.
Now he is going to be thrown into a bigger row and I think he will be okay.
The Aggies are led Martinez and Falslev, who are among the leaders in the Mountain West in various statistical categories.
Martinez is scoring a team-high 17.5 ppg, while Falslev is netting 17.3 ppg.
Falslev, who has been on a tear of late is also averaging a team-best 6.6 boards a game, 3.5 assists and 2.4 steals.
Forward Karson Templin is coming off the bench for USU and scoring 10.1 ppg, while grabbing 5.7 rpg.
The Gaels come into Sundays off a closer-than-expected home win against Merrrimack, 73-68, on Thursday.
Saint Marys two loses were at Arizona State (68-64) and on a neutral court in Idaho against Boise State (67-65).
The Gaels have had some close games, but crushed USC (71-36) at a neutral site and won at Nebraska (77-74).
Ive admired (head) coach (Randy) Bennett from afar, Calhoun said.
Ive been to Moraga (California) a bunch of times to see recruits, but have not played at Saint Marys.
Its obviously a historical program with a great tradition.
Against Merrimack on Thursday, three players for Saint Marys reached double figures in center Mitchell Saxon (18 points), forward Paulius Murauskas (18) and guard Augustus Marciulionis (16).
Saxon and Murauskas had double-doubles as they finished with 12 and 11 rebounds, respectively.
For the season, Marciulionis leads the Gaels in scoring at 14.8 points and 5.8 assists.
Murauskas is scoring 14.1 ppg, and guard Luke Barrett is at 10.7 ppg.
A trio of Saint Marys players are averaging better than seven rebounds an outing in Murauskas (8.0), Saxon (7.5) and Barrett (7.3).
They have very tough and skilled players, Calhoun said.
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They are big and they are physical.
They play at a slow pace.
They are going to beat you to every rebound and bruise you up.
We have to be ready for the physicality, try and win with speed.
We need to speed this game up and get in the mid 70s for sure.
Saxon is 6-10 and a pair of 7-1 players come off the bench in Andrew McKeever and Harry Wessels.
Murauskas is 6-8.
The Aggies have only been outrebounded twice this season, including the last game.
Calhoun has talked about working more on rebounding, which will be of utmost importance against the Gaels.
If we dont rebound against the Gaels, we might as well take our check and go home, Calhoun said.
We got to go hit them because they are going to hit us.
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We need to bring a mentality that we are not leaving that building getting outrebounded.
They are big.
Hopefully we learn from the UC San Diego game.
Then there is sophomore guard Jordan Ross who is from Pleasant Grove.
The four-star athlete is the son of former Aggie Ronnie Ross.
He is starting and averaging 8.6 points and 3.2 assists a game.
The younger Ross was recruited by USU.
When you watch tape, you realize how good he (Ross) is and what impact he has on the Gaels, Calhoun said.
He takes and makes big shots..
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