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Show Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011 Page 7 WednesdaySp0Ft Utah State University • Logan, Utah • www.utahstatesman.com TouchBase WACStandings Football Fresno State Nevada SJSU Hawaii NMSU La. Tech USU Idaho WAC 2-0 1-0 2-1 1-1 1-1 1-1 0-1 0-3 Aggies set at point guard BY TYLER HUSKINSON OVERALL 3-4 3-3 3-4 3-3 3-3 2-4 2-4 1-6 AP Top 25 Record Pts Pv 1. LSU (41) 7-0 1,452 1 2. Alabama (11) 7-0 1,411 2 3. Oklahoma (6) 6-0 1,372 3 4. Wisconsin 6-0 1,252 4 5. Boise St. (1) 6-0 1,218 5 6. Oklahoma St. 6-0 1,186 6 7. Stanford 6-0 1,164 7 7-0 1,064 8 8. Clemson 5-1 1,020 9 9. Oregon 10. Arkansas 5-1 946 10 11. West Virginia 5-1 778 13 6-0 762 17 12. Kansas St. 5-1 748 14 13. Nebraska 14. South Carolina 6-1 690 15 15. Michigan St. 5-1 610 23 16. Virginia Tech 6-1 597 19 17. Texas A&M 4-2 467 21 18. Michigan 6-1 442 11 374 24 19. Auburn 5-2 20. Georgia Tech 6-1 281 12 21. Houston 6-0 238 25 22. Washington 5-1 221 NR 23. Illinois 6-1 207 16 24. Arizona St. 5-2 144 18 24. Georgia 5-2 144 NR assistant sports editor Editor's note: This is part one of a four-part series previewing the men's basketball team. This article will preview the point guard position. With all the unknowns the Utah State men's basketball team faces heading into the 2011-12 season, the point guard looks to be the most solid position. Brockeith Pane — who was tabbed by media members as the Preseason Player of the Year — will most likely keep the starting point guard position he earned as a junior. The 6-foot-1 senior from Dallas averaged nearly 12 points and four assists per game and earned the Western Athletic Conference Tournament Most Valuable Player award. "That's pretty accurate with Brockeith getting so many minutes last year," said associate coach Tim Duryea. Despite losing six seniors, Pane said he's confident the newcomers and those who took a red shirt last season will be ready to perform at a high level. "This school is accustomed to winning, so not much has changed," he said. "We're young but we're accustomed to winning. Nothing has really changed. We lost six seniors that we're going to miss in key ways, but we've got a lot of guys that are going to step up and be ready to play." Pane also noted the ability of several players on the squad to be talented at different positions. "We have a lot of people that can play multiple positions," he said. "Preston Medlin is playing the one and two, Antonio (Bumpus) is playing the two and three. We have a lot of key guys that have been in the system and haven't gotten to play. They are excited to be ready to play. We've got new guys excited to be in the Spectrum excited to be on the road and face other opponents. We've just got to be ready to play." One question that is still left to be answered is: Who will back up Pane at the point guard position? Junior guard E.J. Farris constantly battled with true- freshman James Walker last season for the back up position, but USU head coach Stew Morrill ended up using both Walker and Farris in the rotation often. "There is still a question at back up, but hopefully with a year under E.J. Farris's belt — guys usually make a huge improvement in the second year in our system — we're looking for some more consistent play," Duryea said. "He had some bright spots last year, but he was also really inconsistent." Walker left the team shortly after the end of the season, which seemed to leave the back up locked up with Farris. But the addition of freshman See MEN'S, Page 8 USU tabbed second in WAC poll BY USU ATHLETICS UTAH STATE POINT GUARDS Sam Orchard, Brockeith Pane and E.J. Farris pose for a photo after practice Monday evening at the Spectrum. The point guard position looks to be solid for the Aggies as Pane logged several minutes as a starter last season. TODD JONES photo The Utah State women's basketball team was selected second in the Western Athletic Conference coaches' poll and third in the media poll Tuesday by the league. Both predictions are the highest for USU since joining the WAC. Last season, the Aggies were picked seventh in both the coaches' and the media poll. Senior forward Ashlee Brown made Utah State women's basketball history by becoming the first Aggie to earn WAC Preseason Player of the Year honors when she was awarded the honor by both the coaches and the media. Brown, who averaged 15.2 points per game last season, is the top scorer returning in the WAC. Last season, Brown was the WAC's Newcomer of the Year and earned firstteam all-WAC honors. "It is exciting, not even for myself, but for the program and the team," Brown said. "I am always happy to represent my team. Even if it just my name on there it represents Utah State, and that is all I see. I want to just improve and apply everything that I have learned in the preseason, and show my leadership the best way that I can. I just have fun playing with my team like I always do. I am just excited to be a part of it." The Aggies received 40 points in the WAC coaches' poll, including two of the eight first-place votes. Defending WAC regular season-champion, Louisiana Tech, was picked first with 47 points, including five-first place votes. Fresno State, the 2011 WAC Tournament champions, were picked third with 36 points and the final first-place vote. Nevada placed fourth with 33 points, followed by Hawaii with 22 points. USU gears up for Bulldogs, seeks revenge BY TAVIN STUCK! sports editor The Aggies have a chance to prove themselves to be a contender for the Western Athletic Conference title as they host Louisiana Tech Saturday at 1 p.m. Last season, the Bulldogs beat USU, 24-6, in Ruston, La., just one week after Utah State's monumental win over Brigham Young, 31-16, Oct. 1, 2010. Aggie sophomore wide receiver Travis Van Leeuwen said he remembers the game well. "We definitely remember that," Van Leeuwen said. "We had a terrible game against Louisiana Tech last year. We felt like that we just played terrible last year and we know we could have done better. Anytime you play teams that you play every year, you want to come back and play them better than you did the year before." USU head coach Gary Andersen said the matchup this season will be a great game. "They're a very talented team," Andersen said. " I believe they run very, very well. They're a very big challenge for us. This is a team that is a lot like us. They have had a couple of very, very heartbreaking losses." The Bulldogs come into the game 2-4 and 1-1 in conference play but have fallen short in close games to Mississippi State, Houston and Southern Miss. Two weeks ago Louisiana Tech beat the Idaho Vandals in Moscow, Idaho, and are fresh off a bye week in preparation for Utah State. Bulldog head coach Sonny Dykes said the game will be a good challenge. "I think the thing Utah State has done a good job of is they've been really consistent," Dykes said. "I think they're playing really smart football and not turning over the football much." The Aggies have suffered a disappointing season, so far, with all four losses by only 17 points combined. Andersen said he is frus- trated with the way things are going. "Right now things aren't going well," Andersen said. "We're 2-4, period. We've got to find ways to win games in the fourth quarter. Coaches, players, myself, everybody needs to look at themselves and find a way to be able to make a play, because other teams are making them to beat us." The Bulldogs are led by Nick Isham at the quarterback position. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound true freshman has eight touchdowns and seven interceptions on the season. "He's done a good job for us," Dykes said, of how Isham stacks up against other freshmen QB's. "I think he compares pretty well with the rest of the guys, but I think the thing we need to do is not turn the ball over." Louisiana Tech will have its hands full stopping the Aggie offense. USU ranks No. 6 in the nation in rushing offense, averaging just under 300 yards per game, plus junior running back Robert Turbin has 13 touchdowns this season "Utah State runs the ball as well as anybody," Dykes said. "Turbin's such a good back. He's a big, strong, physical running back who is very fast. If you watch the tape, he makes big play, *See FOOTBALL, Page 8 The Slammers claim co-rec volleyball title BY MEREDITH KINNEY sports senior writer TREVOR ESCHLER SPIKES the ball on two blockers during the intermural co-rec championship game Tuesday night at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.The Slammers took the intramural championship over Team Jesse Parker in four sets, 3- I. CURTIS RIPPLINGER photo With a roster two players short, The Slammers battled injuries, ceding a win to an athletic Team Jesse Parker in the intramural Co-Rec volleyball championship Tuesday night. Both teams won earlier in the day to earn a spot in the championship game. The Slammers beat the Nappy Nard-Dogs, while Team Jesse Parker knocked the Nectarines out of the tournament. The Slammers continued their run with a 3-1 victory over Jesse Parker for the championship. The Slammers are no strangers to a short roster. They lost a key player to an injury early on. "We had to lose a player which puts us down to four players," said The Slammers' Miles Maynes. "That was a little concerning at first, but it turned out good, because we learned to trust each other." Since co-rec intramural rules require teams to play equal numbers of men and women at all times, the Slammers had to bench one man to keep the ratio even. They rotated so each player was on the court for two games, but the technicality forced them to play with just four players. "It was hard to adjust playing against six players," said Slammers back row hitter Hali Hesley. The Slammers defeated Team Jesse Parker, which has a few familiar faces on its lineup. JP is led by current Aggie basketball player Preston Medlin and former player Matt Formosiano. "We played a very athletic team," Maynes said. "We just played smart and put the ball where we wanted it." .,See SLAMMERS, Page 8 |