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After a very successful home stand, the Aggies head out for three straight games outside the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. The Utah State men’s basketball team begins a stretch of three neutral-site games on Friday in Kansas City, Missouri. The Aggies, who received votes this week in the AP Top 25 Poll, will face Iowa in the T-Mobile Center, which seats 18,000. The game is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. and will be televised on the Big Ten Network. “It’s going to be a good test, a game outside of the Spectrum,” USU head coach Jerrod Calhoun said. “We are playing a very good, quality opponent, certainly a Quad 1 right now on a neutral site. It’s a great opportunity. We look forward to the opportunity. It’s a resume game.” While it is a neutral site, the Hawkeyes (5-0) will have a noticeable cheering section as they tend to travel well. In 2021, USU and Iowa played a neutral site game in South Dakota, which saw a lot of fans in yellow and black. “Wherever you are, you need to play good basketball to win,” Calhoun said. “We can play better on both sides. Montana gave us a good test.” The Aggies (4-0) are excited to get out an test themselves against a traditionally good opponent and away from home. USU’s Ian Martinez joked about how he seemed to thrive in road games a year ago. The graduate guard has been doing just fine at home to start the 2024-25 campaign. Martinez not only leads the Aggies in scoring at 22.8 points a game, but ranks among the best in the nation in efficient play. Following Monday’s 95-83 win over Montana, Martinez ranked 12th in the country in best statistical output per possession. He is shooting 53.5 percent from the field, including 56 percent from 3-point range and has made 93.9 percent of his free throw attempts. Martinez is also averaging 3.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists and one steal a game, while playing 26 minutes a game. “We look for all of our guys to be efficient,” Calhoun said. “The way that you do that is take good shots. Ian has really taken good shots. His teammates have done a phenomenal job of getting him some easy ones. ... Ian is going to score the ball, whether he averages 23 or 30 or 20 or 18, this kid can score the ball. I need to get the ball in good spots for him and run good things for him. He is a top-level scorer.” Four other Aggies are averaging double figures in the scoring department. Mason Falslev is netting 12.8 points an outing, followed by Aubin Gateretse (12.0), Dexter Akanno (11.8) and Karson Templin (11.5). Isaac Johnson (8.7), Drake Allen (7.8) and Tucker Anderson (7.8) are close to double digits. “We feel really good about where we are at health wise, conditioning wise,” Calhoun said. “We are going to use everybody against Iowa.” Gateretse missed Monday’s game as he was in concussion protocol. He has practiced this week and should be good to go Friday. USU will need the 6-foot-11 center and the 7-foot Johnson, who has also missed a game this young season, as Iowa has some size. “We saw a lot of size against Oregon (in a closed scrimmage before the season), so this won’t be the first time we’ve seen that size,” Calhoun said. “We are one of the better teams around the rim, so we need to go up there strong and finish. We’ve got to finish through contact. We need to be fearless in attacking the rim.” In their last outing, a 83-58 win over Rider on Tuesday, the Hawkeyes started four forwards and a guard. The forwards ranged from 6-7 to 6-10. Iowa also has size on the bench. “Iowa is a unique team, probably more unique than any team we play with their shot distribution being about 48 percent of their total shots being threes,” Calhoun said. “It gives you a different dynamic defensively. You have to honor almost every guy that steps on the floor. Every team presents different problems.” With the Aggies playing unique defense of their own, which is mostly a zone, will that invite Iowa to shoot more 3-point shots? “I don’t care if you are playing man or zone, Iowa scores the ball,” Calhoun said. “They are one of the better offensive teams in the country so far. We just have to have an unbelievable understanding of the game plan. ... We have to have urgency, have active hands and win pass battles. We need to disrupt their rhythm because this is a very, very good rhythm team.” Forward Payton Sandfort leads the Hawkeyes with 17.8 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists an outing. Fellow forward Owen Freeman is a load at 6-10 and is averaging 17.5 points and 8.3 rebounds, while shooting nearly 60 percent from the field. Forward Pryce Sandfort, the younger brother of Payton, is the other Hawkeye to average double figures in points at 11.6, who played in the last game. “He (Freeman) was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year last year,” Calhoun said. “He is really good on that low block. He is not just a scorer, but a really good passer. To me, playing against really good player, you need to counter it and go right at those guys. We have to have a presence in there and make him work, whether that’s inside or out. A lot of respect to him. He plays hard and attacks the glass. He is a load in there. “... Those brothers (Sandfort) are good and really shoot the ball. Payton can drive and post you. We need to know where those kids are at all times. They can make threes.” Guard Josh Dix missed Tuesday’s contest with a wrist injury and is averaging 12.3 points and 4.0 assists a game. “We are assuming he is playing,” Calhoun said. “He can do a little bit of anything. I think he is one of their top players. We will see what happens.” Point guard Brock Harding isn’t scoring a lot (5.8 ppg), but does dish out 5.4 assists and comes up with two steals a game. “He (Harding) is one of their leaders, plays with a lot of emotion,” Calhoun said. “He was Freeman’s high school teammate. He does a great job of getting in the paint and kicking out. He does a great job defensively and a great job running their team.” Iowa has been getting production off the bench in forward Seydou Traore and guard Drew Thelwell, who average 9.7 and 8.4 ppg, respectively. Thelwell, a transfer from Morehead State, is also averaging 4.0 assists a game. “Thelwell is a very good player,” Calhoun said.
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Los Angeles Chargers running back J.K Dobbins is unlikely to play against the Atlanta Falcons this week because of a knee injury. Dobbins was hurt in the first half of the Chargers’ 30-23 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night. He had six carries for 40 yards and three catches for 19 yards before leaving the game. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.
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FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Looking for hard-to-find bottles of Kentucky bourbon to toast the holidays or add to a collection? Get your bids ready as the Bluegrass State launches its first online auction of confiscated alcohol. Whiskeys up for sale include two bottles of Old Rip Van Winkle, a Blanton’s Single Barrel Gold in box with Japanese markings and a bottle of Four Roses Small Batch Barrel Strength 2011. The sale is the result of a new Kentucky law, which allows alcohol confiscated from closed criminal investigations by the state’s alcoholic beverage control agency to be auctioned. Online bidding opens Wednesday and closes at midnight on Dec. 11. Proceeds will support programs promoting responsible alcohol use by adults and awareness programs for youths. “This is a really good auction,” Eric Gregory, president of the Kentucky Distillers’ Association, said by phone Tuesday. “There are some hard-to-find and rare bottles on there.” No estimate has been given on how much the auction might raise. “We look forward to seeing the response to this auction and have started planning additional auctions for 2025,” said Allyson Taylor, commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. RELATED COVERAGE Kentucky attorney general targets another big pharmacy benefit manager in opioid-related lawsuit Louisville police officer alleges discrimination over his opinion on Breonna Taylor’s killing Former Kentucky sheriff pleads not guilty in the fatal courthouse shooting of a judge The auction features 32 bottles of alcohol and includes a “stock the bar” bundle with bottles of wine, vodka, rum and whiskey, the agency said. But the stars are the hard-to-find and rare bourbons up for sale. “It’s not every day you go to a liquor store and find a bottle of Blanton’s Gold,” Gregory said. “You never go to a liquor store and find a bottle of Four Roses 2011.” The lineup includes bottles of E.H. Taylor bourbon, Blanton’s Single Barrel, Eagle Rare 10 yr., Weller Antique 107, Willett Family Estate Single Barrel Rye, Michter’s, an Old Forester gift set and more. A link to the online auction is available at ABC.ky.gov. Auction items cannot be shipped, so winning bidders must pick up items in Frankfort, the state said. The auctions will become a “can’t miss opportunity” for bourbon connoisseurs, Gregory said. Until this year’s change in the law, Kentucky regulators were required to destroy confiscated alcohol once a case was closed, the agency said. “We don’t like to see good bourbon poured down the drain,” Gregory said. Kentucky distillers produce 95% of the global bourbon supply, the Kentucky distillers’ group says.Jimmy Carter's environmental legacy set the foundation for today's climate action
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