by Amos Naismith
February 15, 2006 (c) TrueAggies.com
Exclusive to TrueAggies.com
LOGAN, Utah – The Northwestern State Demons (17-6) from Natchitoches, Louisiana visit the Spectrum on Saturday night to take on the Utah State Aggies (17-6 ) as part of the ESPN BracketBusters presented by eBay.
This is the first ever meeting between the Demons and Aggies. The Demons are amid their best season in 40 years as they top the Southland Conference with a 10-1 league record. While Utah State is playing their first season in the WAC and currently sits in third place behind Nevada and Louisiana Tech with a league record of 8-4.
In addition to their conference schedule, NSU has mixed it up with some Big 12 schools ( Missouri, Oklahoma State, and Iowa State) as well as another WAC school, losing to Hawaii 80-76 in the Outrigger Hotels Classic.
On paper the Demons look to get their scoring from all over the roster. As I highlight their key players their jersey number (according to ESPN) will be in parenthesis – because from where I sit I know I can’t catch the names on their shirts.
Clifton Lee (30), a 6-foot 7-inch forward, leads the Demons with an average of 13.3 per game and 6.4 rebounds. Jermaine Wallace (23) averages 9.8 points a game for the Demons at guard. Tyronn Mitchell (3), averaging 7.5 points and 5 assists a game, has very similar numbers to David Pak and looks to be the Demons setup man. Mitchell also leads the team in steals, averaging 2.3 swipes per game. If the game were to go down to the wire, Mitchell is not the man to send to the line as he has a .828 free throw percentage.
Other Demons of note are Luke Rogers (12), who averages 9.1 points, and Byron Allen (2) who averages 7.8.
The showdown will air live on ESPNU, but any True Aggie who can will be in the Spectrum in person. Tip off is set for 8:05 pm, following the women’s game between Utah State and Hawaii, which tips off at 5:00 pm.
(ESPNU can be found on DIRECTV on channel 609 and on the DISH Network on channel 148. )
You can email feedback, or comments and suggestions to Amos at amosnaismith@trueaggies.com