The Lobos (6-6, 2-0) return to action after their second straight dominating performance to start out Mountain West play. Neither the game at Fresno State nor against San Diego State were ever in question. In fact, the only thing that made you hold your breath during either game was when Lobo wing Alex Lapeyrolerie was face down on the floor for an extended period. Good news for the Lobos is Lapeyrolerie should only miss a couple of games due to concussion protocol, instead of it being something far more serious. Tonight, the Lobos will host a solid Utah State Aggies (8-5, 1-1) team, who are looking for a huge road win. The Lobos must find players to fill the void left by the Lapeyrolerie injury, but I think that the Lobos should be able to handle the Aggies in The PIT.
Utah State Team Stats:
The Aggies are a defensive-minded team that wants to play in the 50s rather than the 70s, and will try to score just enough to get to 60 points. They will look to give the Lobos trouble in the post with their 6.8 blocks a game, but if Rachelle van der Keijl and Jaisa Nunn can finish in the post, it could be another large margin victory for the Lobos. One thing that stands out to me is how few 3-point attempts the Aggies have per game. In today’s day and age, you would think a team shooting 33.3% would be attempting 20+ threes a game.
| Aggies | Opponents | |
| Points Per Game | 61.6 | 57.3 |
| Field Goal % | 39.1% (309/791) | 36.3% (264/727) |
| 3 Point % | 33.3% (53/159) | 28.7% (70/244) |
| Free Throw % | 67.7% (130/192) | 65.3% (147/225) |
| Field Goals Per Game | 23.77/60.85 | 20.31/55.92 |
| 3 Pointers Per Game | 4.08/12.23 | 5.38/18.77 |
| Free Throws Per Game | 10.0/14.77 | 11.3/17.31 |
| Rebounds Per Game | 39.2 | 38.2 |
| Assists Per Game | 14.0 | 11.9 |
| Turnovers | 16.0 | 18.5 |
| Steals Per Game | 9.2 | 7.8 |
| Blocks Per Game | 6.8 | 2.6 |
| Fouls Committed Per Game | 17.77 | 16.92 |
Utah State Key Players:
The Aggies have three players that play over 26 minutes a game. Aside from those three, the Aggies have six players playing at least 13.4 minutes a game. We will focus on their two leading scorers.
#22 Rachel Brewster is averaging 12.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.77 assists, and 1.23 steals a game.
#5 Shannon Dufficy is averaging 9.9 points, 9.5 rebounds, 1.85 assists and 1.23 steals a game.
If the Lobos can limit their impact on the game, it could be another 15+ point victory for the Lobos in front of the Lobos faithful.
Lobo Team Stats:
| Lobos | Opponents | |
| Points Per Game | 70.9 | 62.1 |
| Field Goal % | 40.3% (315/782) | 34.3% (285/830) |
| 3 Point % | 29.3% (86/294) | 29.4% (75/255) |
| Free Throw % | 56.8% (138/234) | 70.9% (100/141) |
| Field Goals Per Game | 26.25/65.17 | 23.75/69.25 |
| 3 Pointers Per Game | 7.17/24.5 | 6.25/21.25 |
| Free Throws Per Game | 11.08/19.5 | 8.33/11.75 |
| Rebounds Per Game | 47.8 | 42.8 |
| Assists Per Game | 15.8 | 13.3 |
| Turnovers | 14.8 | 12.8 |
| Steals Per Game | 6.4 | 7.0 |
| Blocks Per Game | 4.9 | 3.6 |
| Fouls Committed Per Game | 13.83 | 17.42 |
Players of the Game:
(As a reminder, we assign 3 points to the top player of the game, 2 to the second, and 1 to the third.)
Fresno State Game:
- Cherise Beynon (20 points on the season)
- Rachelle van der Keijl (20 points on the season)
- Alex Lapeyrolerie (7 points on the season)
SDSU Game:
- Cherise Beynon (23 points on the season)
- Mykiel Burleson (8 points on the season)
- Jaisa Nunn (11 points on the season)
MW Picks:
I’m 9-1 so far in picks this year, with the lone loss coming from CSU’s surprise loss at home to BSU. Wednesday night’s action should be pretty straightforward, with only the Nevada at SDSU game as a toss-up game for me.
(The team in bold is my pick for that game.)
CSU vs. SJSU
UNM vs. USU
WYO vs. FSU
BSU vs. UNLV
SDSU vs. Nevada
Mountain West Standings:
- BSU 2-0
- UNM 2-0
- WYO 2-0
- SJSU 1-0
- CSU 1-1
- FSU 1-1
- USU 1-1
- SDSU 0-1
- UNLV 0-2
- Nevada 0-2
- AFA 0-2
Game Prediction:
The Lobos are coming off two great performances and should have no problem winning this game, but there are the questions about how well the Lobos will be able to fill the void left by the Lapeyrolerie injury. The Lobos will have the two best players in the game in Cherise Beynon and Rachelle van der Keijl, so that factored in with the Lobos being at home, I have the odds of the Lobos winning the game at 77%. Stranger things do happen, but I see the Lobos winning the game 73-59, with Beynon on the verge of a triple-double.
Game Info:
Who: New Mexico Lobos (6-6, 2-0) at Utah State Aggies (8-5, 1-1)
When: Wednesday, January 4th, 7 PM MT
Where: WisePies Arena AKA The PIT, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Steam: Mountain West Network
Radio: 610 AM