Men's Hoops vs. Utah St. preview (Jamaica Classic): Friday 11/22, 6:00 CST | CBSSN

Please note the rankings you see below are from Kenpom right now. I will use the NET rankings later this year once released. Kenpom can be a little wonky right now because there's still preseason bias in effect, for instance Nicholls is #230 right now but should be much much higher once preseason is factored in less considering they have done well vs. a tough schedule. Kenpom doesnt totally remove preseason until January, but it gradually decreases.

(#40) LSU
W 88-79 (#104) Bowling Green
W 77-50 (#209) UMBC
W 76-65 (#230) Nicholls St
L 82-84 (#37) @ VCU

(#48) Utah St
W 82-50 (#214) UTSA
W 81-73 (#238) Montana St
W 89-34 (#268) Weber St
W 97-56 (#295) Denver
W 81-54 (#338) North Carolina A&T

We are coming into this game 3-1 on the season now after a nice 77-50 win at home over UMBC where we got to work in the bench a lot. We finally took care of the basketball pretty well with "only" 14 turnovers and despite a dismal 5 for 24 from 3 point performance and only going 14 for 22 from the line had no problem blowing out UMBC. This was the first game this season we had at least as many assists as turnovers for a change.

Utah State is 5-0 on the season with no notable wins really but a lot of blowouts still. Montana St is a decent win I would say despite it only being by 8 points. They are ranked #15 in the AP Poll so they are very highly thought of. Utah State finished last year 28-7 and won the MWC at 15-3. They went to the NCAAT where they lost in the first round to Washington. They returned almost everyone off that team losing just 1 starter and 1 notable bench player really.

Utah St prides themselves on suffocating half court defense. They were 10th in the entire country last year in FG% defense holding teams under 40% from the floor on average. They will block some shots, they will frustrate you they will be solid from 3...this is a very good team and filled with some trees.

Utah St projected starters
C (7'2, 220) JR. Kuba Karwowski
PF (6'7, 210) SO. Justin Bean
CG (6'5, 205) SR. Sam Merrill
SG (6'5, 200) SO. Brock Miller
PG (6'3, 200) JR. Abel Porter

Kuba Karwowski is a gigantic center who has been starting in place of NBA prospect Neemias Queta who has been out all season so far with a knee injury and have not heard his status for the game yet. Kuba comes to Utah St via JUCO and this is his first season in NCAA D1. He's seen about 18 minutes a game and is mostly out there for rim protection and rebounding only, he doesnt provide much offense. His PER through 5 games is 19.2.

Justin Bean was a slightly used freshman last season at Utah st averaging about 12 minutes a game, he is now a starter averaging 13 points, 11 boards (almost 4 offensive rebounds a game), 2.5 assists and only 1.2 turnovers a game. He's blossomed into a very good forward for them but at least doesnt need to be guarded closely around the 3 point line as he rarely takes them. His PER this season a staggering 29.5.

Sam Merrill is a lengthy ball handler and returning starter for Utah St who acts as a 2nd PG on the floor basically to Abel Porter. He is downright deadly from 3 however and that's someone we cannot let get going, he is averaging 17 points a game so far this season after averaging over 20 a game last season. His PER on the season is 25.9.

Brock Miller is another returning starter and 3 point specialist for Utah St. 76% of his shots last season were from 3 and he took 6 a game. So you basically follow this guy all around the 3 point line. This year he's averaging over 8 game from 3 and 13 points a game. His PER this season is 16.7.

Abel Porter is another returning starter for Utah St from last year and kind of splits PG duties with Sam Merrill on the floor. He isnt the most dynamic player overall and is the guy we should not have to worry too much about compared to the others. He is avergaing just 7 points but 4.6 assists a game right now. His PER this season is only 11.6.

Utah St top bench players
PF (6'6, 220) JR. Alphonso Anderson
CG (6'6, 205) SR. Diogo Brito
G (6'8, 190) FR. Sean Bairstow
C (7'0, 240) rFR. Trevin Dorius
C (7'0, 245) SO. Neemias Queta (If Available)

The first thing you notice is Utah St has a TON of height. Queta I will start off with because he a freshman starter for Utah St last season and almost went pro. He hasn't played yet this season dealing with injury but we really dont want to see him. He averaged 12/9 last season and was 61% from the floor with 2.5 blocks per game. Anderson is a JUCO player for Utah St who so far has been the biggest scorer off the bench for them. Brito is a ball handler off the bench who can absolutely hit 3's at a high rate, but doesnt take very many of them. Dorius has likely seen more action than he would otherwise with Queta out but despite the height there not much to worry about. Bairstow is a very lengthy guard who hasn't done too much this year but as a freshman is trying to get into the swing of things.

This game is going to be no joke guys out in Jamaica. People will remember last year when we went to the Advocare and had a couple losses. If Queta doesnt play, it would help tremendously, but even without him, Utah St can really bully us around the rim and on defense. They arent a turn you over type of team, but they are a team extremely tough to score on. They've easily taken care of their business so far this season as expected though. We may need Cooper to give us a little help down low this game on defense because flat out Williams/Days will not be able to guard their centers very effectively, I wonder if we try Watford some there.

Projected LSU Starting 5
PF (6'6, 230) SO. Emmitt Williams - #5
PF (6'6, 240) SO. Darius Days - #0
SF (6'9, 235) FR. Trendon Watford - #2
SG (6'4, 205) SR. Skylar Mays - #4
PG (6'4, 205) SO. Javonte Smart - #1

Main rotational players
SF (6'5, 200) JR Charles Manning Jr. - #11
SF (6'5, 225) rFR. Aundre Hyatt - #15
PG (6'2, 190) FR. James Bishop - #10

Kenpom Prediction: LSU 76 Utah St 75