The Utah State basketball season is rapidly grinding to an end. The Aggies have just three games left in the season after their matchup with Boise State Saturday afternoon.
With an at large bid out of the picture after a tough week with losses to Wyoming, Nevada and earlier this week at San Diego State, here are a few things to watch down the stretch for the Aggies.
Can Justin Bean get back in rhythm before the Mountain West tournament. The Aggies have been at their best while Bean has been a double-double machine. Bean has been close to a double-double over his past three games but hasn’t topped 20 points. You certainly can’t be critical of 18 point 8 rebound nights but for a team that is so centered on the Aggie big man if his numbers aren’t big the team has not been winning this year.
This brings us to question two, can Utah State depth step up? Players like RJ Eytle-Rock and Rylan Jones have been notably absent from the scoresheet over the past three games. A majority of points scored for the Aggies have come from Bean and Brandon Horvath. You need more than two scorers especially in the stacked Mountain West this year.
Finally what kind of development will we see from this Aggie coaching staff? Players like Zee Hamoda have encouraging games here and there throughout this season but then it seems players like he and Trevin Dorius disappear entirely from the game plan. The Aggies will be losing a majority of their starting roster this off season, at some point these young players are going to have to be given more floor time so Utah State can be more competitive next year. The goal now is a deep run in the Mountain West tournament, but seeding at this point shouldn’t matter, the league is deep enough that every draw will be a tough one. It’s time to start playing younger players like Hamoda and getting them reps for the tournament and into next year.