One of this season's real success stories, Utah State can present matchup concerns for Purdue

INDIANAPOLIS — The team standing in the way of top-seeded Purdue and a trip to Detroit in the Midwest Regional: Utah State, the champion of a league that put six teams in the NCAA Tournament.

The Aggies bring a 28-6 record into Sunday’s meeting with the Boilermakers, making Coach Danny Sprinkle’s first year with the program one of college basketball’s real success story. Sprinkle, soon to be a hot name in this year’s high-major coaching carousel — he’s a Washington native and Big Ten-bound Washington happens to be open — did it after building an almost entirely new roster, led by Great Osobor, who followed his coach from Montana State.

A deeper look at Utah State.

A GREAT CHALLENGE, LITERALLY

Power forward Great Osobor, who came with Sprinkle from Montana State, is the Mountain West player-of-the-year, a 6-foot-8, 250-pounder that Purdue coaches have compared loosely to Trevion Williams due to his ability to “wheel and deal” as a post passer. Osobor is big and wide, able to play on the blocker or facing the basket, able to drive. He’s only made three threes this season, but Purdue will nevertheless need to keep him from collapsing its defense off the dribble.

“It’s about being the aggressor,” Osobor said. “Coach Sprinkle always talks about the aggressor always wins. So if we take it to them and physically try and set the tone without being the reactor, I think you give yourself a chance and in games like this, it’s about giving yourself a chance to be successful.

Down low, he’s crafty like a Tyler Wahl, but bigger and more powerful, but not as quick in the feet, powerful to drive through people and long and nimble enough to finish acrobatically at the basket or work his way to the foul line.

“He’ll push the ball up the floor, he loves to spin, and he’s got a little Trevion Williams in him,” said Purdue assistant coach Terry Johnson, who handled the defensive scouting report on the Aggies. “He’s a really good passer, somebody who can throw the ball on a dime to somebody in the corner, but can also throw it to your parents in the stands as well.”

UTAH STATE IS GUARD DRIVEN

Guards Darius Brown and Ian Martinez combine to average about 25 points per game. Utah State is not a great three-point shooting team collectively, but Brown shoots 40 percent and Martinez 38 percent.

Brown averages 13.4 points from his point guard spot, with a sparkling 3.5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

“We’ve got to put pressure on the ball and make them uncomfortable, and not let them run their sets or get their positions,” Lance Jones said. “We need to push out their catches and make it difficult for them.”

Like the Grambling game, it’ll be up to Jones and Braden Smith, as well as reserves Camden Heide and Ethan Morton.

“We just have to out-compete them,” Smith said.

Purdue remembers Martinez from him starting his career at Maryland, before moving on to Utah, then Utah State.

“He has a lot more confidence in his jumper now,” Purdue assistant coach Terry Johnson said. “At Maryland we had really just deemed him a driver and someone who’d crash the glass, and he still does those things, but he looks a little more confident shooting his three.”

BIG MAN ISAAC JOHNSON IS INTERESTING

Center Isaac Johnson, a 7-footer from Utah who Purdue recruited for a while years ago, is a transfer from Oregon who will be under the microscope playing against Zach Edey. Johnson is 7-foot, but listed at just around 220 pounds.

But … he can shoot threes, having made 25 of them this season on 35-percent shooting.

Johnson starts but has only averaged 15 minutes per game.

But against TCU Friday night, he played 29 minutes, scored 21 points, made two threes, all five of his free throws and blocked four shots.

“He’s a pick-and-pop 5 who can play five out,” Edey said. “He had a career game last time, so we have to be ready for him.”

Johnson, of course, wll have to be ready for Edey, fresh off a 30-point, 21-rebound game vs. Grambling State.

“Sometimes you can’t (stop him),” Johnson said of Edey. “But I think what we can do is stop the rest of the team from doing some of the things that they do. I guess you can stop ’em down low. Not much you can do when it’s up high. So we’ll do our best.”