Lavine: Utah State is a major non-conference addition
Who said twitter was worthless? Matt Janning sent out the first notice, and Northeastern Athletics later confirmed (both through their twitter accounts) that the Utah State Aggies basketball team will visit Matthews Arena to take on the Huskies. This is the second big-time opponent that will play here at home this year, the first being Providence College, who is completing a home-and-home series with the men’s team.
Utah State might not carry the “big time” distinction that Providence has, but they certainly can play. They are coming off a 30-5 season and an NCAA tournament bid through their WAC conference championship. They return four of five starters from last year’s team, which already has garnered strong accolades from media outlets around the country. Make no mistake, this game will be as tough as it gets for a Huskies team that already once again plays difficult non-conference opponents before the CAA schedule begins. Current opponents include Providence, Rhode Island (away), Sienna (away on ESPN), Wright St (home), and then a trip to Hawaii for St Mary’s and a possible matchup with PAC-10 powerhouse USC. Northeastern will be battle-tested by the time they open their conference schedule, but this time, some of the “big” teams are coming to Matthews.
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