USU's late night perfect storm
After Utah State’s win over Louisiana Tech Friday night at the Lawlor Events Center, there were a lot of night owls putting in work in Reno.
And I’m not just talking about the writers tapping out words to fill pages in newspapers or blog entries.
USU’s coaching staff, long after it had tucked the players snuggly into their Silver Legacy hotel beds, was burning the midnight oil.
A few writers and I met for a late bite to eat following the second semifinal and as we munched on our grub at a table outside the coffee shop — talking hoops, newspapers and whatever else it is sports writers talk about — Utah State’s coaching staff wandered by and we each said hello.
It was 2:30 a.m. (yes, dear wife, I was up way too late hanging out with the boys) and the coaching staff had spent the past five or six hours breaking down film, scouting New Mexico State plays, players and schemes (if they do, in fact, have any schemes) in preparation for tonight’s WAC title game.
New Mexico State may have an emotional edge, but Utah State has virtually every other advantage in this game.
The blue Aggies have advanced on the strength of two wins by an average of 27 points and is a smooth-running machine right now. The blue Aggies officially stopped playing basketball Friday night at about 8 p.m. They unofficially stopped using energy — both physical and emotional — some 90 minutes earlier than that.
The red Aggies, on the other hand, had a slugfest that went down to the wire and used up all sorts of energy — both physical and emotional. With the high-energy game not ending until nearly 11:30 p.m., the emotional rollercoaster ride probably didn’t stop until well after midnight — a time by which USU’s players were sound asleep and well into their physical recovery.
As athletic and skilled as NMSU’s players may be, those 3-4 hours of rest — especially when you consider this will be the third game in three days for both teams — is a huge advantage for the blue Aggies.
I fully expect NMSU to open the game at full speed. The red Aggies are a team that lives on emotion and tonight’s game will be as emotional as they can imagine. But when the fuel tank hits empty, emotion can carry a team only so far.
Shots start falling an inch short, sprints are a half step slow, explosive jumps are an inch shorter and take a split second longer to launch. In short, a tired team wears down. A rested team stays strong.
Utah State, winners of 17 in a row, probably didn’t need a lot of help to beat NMSU. But the way the brackets were set and the way the games unfolded has been nothing short of a perfect storm of opportunity for the Aggies.