[Rosiak's Blog] Recap: Utah State

[ToddRosiakSays]

Recap: Utah State


Mar. 20, 2009 6:26 p.m.  




Boise, Idaho -- For those who follow MU basketball, coach Buzz Williams' penchant for reciting statistics and facts and figures has become pretty commonplace.

Here in Boise, it's got people who hadn't dealt with him to this point in the season wondering exactly what he's all about.

It was a topic of conversation leading up to MU's 58-57 victory over Utah State on Friday, and it was a topic afterward as well.

One reporter wanted to know about Williams' "almost borderline obsession with the numbers".

"It's probably not quite as 'Rain Man' as you think," he said. "I think when you're teaching 19- and 20- and 22-year old young men the game, any statistical evidence you can give them to support your teaching, it gives them another perspective on how to absorb and comprehend what you're saying.

"Just to holler and scream and say, 'Do this, do this, do this,' I think sometimes if you can show them in a different light how to execute...it helps everybody better absorb."

Wesley Matthews agreed.

"When he broke down Utah State, he said they average 72 points on 72 possessions," he said. "So when you break down stuff like that and break down what we need to do in order to prevent the outcome from happening, then it's simple."

Utah State coach Stew Morrill, a veteran of 23 years on the sideline, had a slightly different take.

"I've been doing this a long time," he said. "I pretty much coach with instinct. You're always going to look at some stats, but I think you can get overly wound up in statistics.

"You look at this game, it doesn't take a genius to figure out them getting to the free-throw line was huge, and that we were stunned by their athleticism and pressure initially in the game. We had a really hard time execituing because of their quickness and strength and those kinds of things."

As Morrill alluded to, MU's defense early on was tremendous.

The Golden Eagles completely took big man Gary Wilkinson out of the game, were limiting the Aggies to one shot and kept themselves in the lead even when they went scoreless for a spell of 3 minutes 56 seconds midway through the first half.

MU ultimately held Utah State, the nation's top field-goal percentage team at 49.8% heading in, to just 30.8% shooting in the opening 20 minutes. The Aggies also hit just 1 of 8 threes after coming in hitting nearly 40%.

-- Morrill helped get the Aggies back into the game in the second half by throwing a zone at the Golden Eagles.

Utah State immediately went on a 10-0 run, and the game was a dogfight for most of the rest of the way.

"I think the situation was where just starting off against them our pace was bad going into the second period," said Jerel McNeal. "We weren't cutting hard, we weren't hitting gaps and playing inside-out like we needed to. Once we started doing that we started to get a lot of looks that we usually get and a lot of shots that we usually make."

-- MU caught a huge break when, down one, Utah State's Jared Quayle fouled out with 1:45 remaining in the game.

That foul not only led to two free throws for Lazar Hayward, it also deprived the Aggies of their best three-point option (4 for 8 in the game) for the crucial final stretch.

As it turned out, Utah State hit 2 threes the rest of the way, but one was banked in and the other came at the buzzer with the outcome already decided.

"I was definitely aware of his foul situation and the coaches made sure that we were all aware," said Hayward. "When we had the ball we made sure we were attacking."

-- The Golden Eagles' second-round game with Missouri on Sunday should start between 4-4:15 p.m....David Cubillan and Matthews both went down with injuries in the game, but neither appeared to be any worse for wear in the locker room afterward...Matthews has moved into ninth place on MU's all-time scoring list with 1,649 points...the Golden Eagles' seven assists tied a season low...Utah State had won 13 straight games this year and 57 straight overall when holding its opponents to less than 60 points...The Aggies had also won four straight games decided by one point...MU is now 34-27 all-time in the NCAA tournament.

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