Hard to win a game on the road when you shoot just 39% as a team. You have to feel bad for Tavernari. Dude is shooting 33.8% overall this season (28.5% from behind the arc). It figured to be a tight contest, but the Cougars needed somebody to step up and have a big game. That should have been Tavernari or Abouo - both of whom had either an advantage of experience or athleticism in each of the pairings with Aggie defenders. Abouo had a miserable line with 4 fouls and 3 turnovers in just 15 minutes. But it's not like Fredette played that fantastic either. He also shot just 5 of 15 despite finishing with 19 points.
Rebounds, turnovers and fouls were all fairly even. Utah State had a few more free throw attempts than the Cougars but that's typical when you're playing on the road. The Cougars simply misplaced their brains on a few plays. A microcosm of the game could be seen when freshman swing-man Tyler Haws fouled an Aggie with 3.2 seconds remaining before halftime - on a three-point attempt. I'm not laying the blame on Haws because those thing are going to happen, but it was that kind of night for BYU.
Game ball goes to Jared Qualye the 6'1'' guard from Perry, Utah (pop. 2,383) by way of Western Wyoming JC. That feller can ball and his name should be added to the list of terrific Utah athletes from obscure villages (See: Clawson, Coleby; Jorgensen, Jan).