By Carlos Jimenez (@carlosjimmenezz):
SJSU men’s basketball (1-3) will host Idaho State (0-3) this evening before embarking on a four-game road trip.
The Spartans started out the season with a blowout win, but have since been on a three-game losing streak coming off a week in which they lost to both Southern Utah University and Saint Mary’s College.
“We’re staying positive,” said freshman guard Nai Carlisle. “They have been some tough losses these past three.”
Turnovers have been a major issue this far as the Spartans are averaging 15.8 turnovers a game.
“It is a new offense for us,” said junior guard Jaycee Hillsman. “We’ve been working on it for a while and we’re getting the nuances of the offense down… and figure out our reads.”
Meanwhile, rebounding has been a strength as SJSU owns a 10 rebound per game advantage over its opponents and have yet to be outrebounded this season.
“That’s one of our staples [rebounding]. That and defense,” said junior forward Ryan Welage. “We’re a big team, our starting five usually contains two bigs and I’m a tall wing and Jaycee is a really big wing as well.”
As if he didn’t last season, Welage is in the midst of a breakout season currently averaging 22 points a game. His offensive production will be key in determining the outcome of this match.
Bengals guard Brandon Boyd leads Idaho State averaging 14 points per game, and it will primarily be up to Hillsman and junior guard Jalen James to slow him down.
Tomorrow’s matchup will be the first since 1990 when the Spartans won, 79-70.
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at the Event Center.