Nevada game in review

Here are a few notes and observations I, and other reporters, had during Utah State’s 79-72 overtime win at Nevada.

Tyler Newbold struggles offensively on the road. But even when shots aren’t falling, he’s doing all those little things coaches love and it’s hard to take him off the floor. He played 44 of the 45 minutes Wednesday night. He had only two made shots, but had 11 rebounds and effectively shut down Nevada’s Joey Shaw.

Pooh Williams had his best game of the season. 15 points is nice, but even Stew Morrill was thrilled with the defensive job Williams did on Armon Johnson, a player many think is destined for the NBA.

Jared Quayle was back. The senior point guard was never rattled and never lost composure – except for, perhaps, a couple of plays at the end of the first half. His 21 points and clutch second-half shooting reminded us of why he was considered USU’s team MVP last year.

Tai Wesley took over when it mattered most. Whether it was guarding Luke Babbitt (and shutting him down over the final 12 minutes of the game) or establishing himself on the post and scoring when needed thanks to his dazzling footwork and soft shooting touch, Wesley had a tremendous game.

Nevada coach David Carter might want to work a few conditioning drills into practice or, more importantly, during the offseason. For the second time in two games against USU, Nevada’s better ‘athletes’ ran out of gas down the stretch and simply couldn’t handle USU’s physicality.

Luke Babbitt looks better than he did a year ago. He’s got muscle tone he didn’t have and has a few more offensive moves. But he refuses to play on the post. And for a 6-foot-9 guy, the post has got to be a part of your game at the college level – otherwise your defender won’t have to work as hard.

After Nevada built a 10-point second half lead, it appeared Johnson and Babbitt went into stat-padding mode. Any semblance of an offensive playset was scrapped as the two potential NBA draftees, Johnson especially, forgot about the rest of the team and turned the game into a 2-on-5 contest.

Utah State’s offseason conditioning program was evident. Despite having played Monday night, traveling on Tuesday and playing again on Wednesday, the Aggies were clearly the stronger and more physically resilient team. The Aggies have muscles on top of muscles and can maintain their pace better than most teams. The cardio conditioning pays off when the games are stacked up. Nevada, with plenty of rest and nearly a week to prepare, looked tired and ready for a nap after 30 minutes of play.