Under the Radar Game of the Day: Thursday, February 19, 2015: New Mexico State at Utah Valley

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New Mexico State at Utah Valley, 9:00 PM Eastern, UVU-TV/free streaming at wacsports.com

Rivalry Week.  Perhaps it is nothing more than an invention by ESPN to further drum up the excitement surrounding the first of each year’s two North Carolina-Duke games.  But there are, even after realignment, quite a few very good rivalries still out there, especially among the UTR conferences (check out last night’s podcast for a discussion of some of the top ones).  But how does a rivalry form?  I for one would argue that there are four factors that can help build one.  First, geographic location is very important (see Duke-UNC), but not always required (see Gonzaga-St. Mary’s).  Second, being inn the same conference is always important, but also not required (see Xavier-Cincinnati or Kentucky-Louisville).  Third, both teams being good at the same time is pretty much a necessity.  For example, Duke vs North Carolina does not have even near the same intensity in football as it does in basketball, mostly because neither team has a hstory of being a national powerhouse in football, and Duke has never had much national relevance in football.  The final factor is the “X factor.”  It is a precipitating event that may occur, such as the Xavier-Cincinnati brawl, that pushes the intensity of the games up a notch above everything else.

Tonight’s UTR Game of the Day is not a rivalry match, though it could be one.  New Mexico State and Utah Valley are not exactly close geographically, at least not within an easy drive for each team’s fans to come to the road games.  They are in the same conference together, though this is only the second season they have been so.  While they were the top two teams in the WAC last season, UVU has slipped this season (sixth place entering tonight’s game) and the teams will probably need to battle each other for the top spot in the WAC for quite a few more years if they want to meet the third factor.  However, the fourth factor, the “X Factor” may already be in place.  It happened last season when the Aggies visited Orem, Utah.  K.C. Ross-Miller (who plays now for Bruce Pearl at Auburn), upon seeing that his Aggies had just lost, giving UVU one of their biggest home wins in school history, took the basketball and threw it hard right at Utah Valley’s Holton Hunsaker.  A fight erupted between the teams as the court was stormed, causing fans to get involved as well.  You can watch it in all its ugliness right here:

The fight, while a very nasty incident, was enough for us to believe we had the makings of a new rivalry in the WAC.  Utah Valley got upset in the WAC tournament denying us a rematch of the two teams last season.  They did meet this year at New Mexico State back on January 24, with the Aggies cruising to a 25 point victory.  However, tonight’s game, back at the “scene of the crime,” is the true rematch from last season’s game.  While Ross-Miller transferred and Hunsaker graduated, it is still a huge game tonight.  The Aggies are in first place in the WAC and trying to get the top seed in the conference tournament.  The Wolverines’ fans proved last season that they can bring an electric atmosphere to Orem, Utah.  Hopefully they turn out tonight and help us build a rivalry so that, 10 or 15 years from now, we can look at this matchup and state that it truly does belong in Rivalry Week.