College basketball: Utah State emerges as Western Athletic Conference contender

Logan ? Rock bottom for Utah State came early, before Thanksgiving, with a head-scratching defeat at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

That was the kind of game the Aggies should?ve never lost, even with a young team, even without their best player, Brady Jardine. The players knew it. The fans knew it. Stew Morrill knew it, his postgame comments laced with the reality that this could be a long season for his men?s basketball program.

Almost two months later, the Western Athletic Conference portion of the schedule is at hand for USU, which opens league play this week with two important home contests against Fresno State and Nevada.

Almost two months after that sobering loss, the Aggies once again look like conference contenders. Morrill won?t admit it. But the evidence is there.

Utah State closed its nonconference schedule with four wins out of its last five games. The Aggies handily defeated Kent State, one of the better mid-major teams in the country.

On New Year?s Eve, USU went to Mississippi State, a top-15 team nationally, and lost 66-64 in a game it very well should?ve won, if it weren?t for two missed free throws down the stretch.

The Aggies are much better than they were early in the season. Their perimeter game is shaping up to be the best in the conference, and they seemed to have figured out a way to challenge for a fifth consecutive championship.

?I think we can do some things that will give us a chance to compete,? Morrill said. ?I don?t see us as a contender. I see us as a team trying to be competitive. Road wins will be hard to come by. Hopefully we can do what?s needed to give ourselves a chance.?

The WAC as a whole looks much better than the dreadful league it was last year. There have been big nonconference wins. New Mexico State defeated New Mexico at the Pit, one of the toughest venues in the country. Nevada defeated Arizona State. Hawaii, in its own tournament, beat nationally ranked Xavier and Clemson.

There have been setbacks as well. New Mexico State looked like a prohibitive favorite early on. But the Southern Aggies have lost their best perimeter player, Christian Kabongo, to transfer. Now, they have backcourt depth issues. Nevada, for its big wins, has had mystifying losses as well. Still, the Wolf Pack, on paper, have the most talent in the league.

tjones@sltrib.com

Twitter: @tonyaggieville

Source: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/sports/53224824-77/state-conference-team-season.html.csp

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