Utah State basketball: Marquette expects challenge from complex Ags

BOISE — Marquette coach Buzz Williams said he's never seen anything like it. He said no team he's played against — not even those from the mighty Big East Conference — is as difficult to coach against as Utah State.

"Other than the players and the trainer who tracks their efficiency, I don't think anybody knows exactly what play they're running," Williams said, referring to the complex set of plays the Aggies run based on flip cards real and pretend. "I haven't been able to figure that out."

Defending those plays, especially when Utah State pounds the ball inside to Gary Wilkinson and Tai Wesley, is what Williams said will be his team's biggest challenge this morning.

USU's powerful interior duo is cause enough for most teams to lose a few winks trying to sleep. But the Aggie playset, which Williams said he counted at least five variables for each play, means his defense will have little opportunity to rest.

The No. 6 seed Golden Eagles, on the other hand, present as many challenges for the No. 11 Aggies as any team USU coach Stew Morrill can remember facing in the past season or two.

"Well, their skill level and athletic ability jump out at you," Morrill said. "It's real easy to say, 'OK, it's a Big East team and they're extremely athletic.' But you've got — at that level and that league — you got to be more than just athletes. You've got to have really good basketball skills."

Marquette, indeed, is a skilled basketball team. The Golden Eagles shoot the ball well; they defend ferociously and attack the rim as hard as any team in the country — drawing fouls and earning an average of 26.1 trips to the free throw line per game.

Playing solid help defense without committing to many fouls will be of utmost importance for the Aggies.

"You've seen a lot of games where Tai Wesley has got in foul trouble," Morrill said. "And that's not a plus if we have him or a number of players sitting over by me."

To prevent that, players such as Pooh Williams and Tyler Newbold will be required to be aggressive yet in control as they try to limit the drive-and-kick plays designed to get All-Big East players Jerel McNeal and Wesley Matthews high-percentage looks.

"As an athlete and a competitor, you want to play against guys like that," Newbold said. "You want to compete against guys like that. So we're both looking forward to that opportunity and looking forward to playing well against them."

The game between the Aggies and Marquette may come down to which team can exploit the other's weakness most effectively.