COACH: Stew Morill, 13 years at Utah State, eight years in NCAA tournament.
HOW THEY GOT IN: WAC tournament champions.
GO-TO GUYS: Senior F Tai Wesley is a high-energy power forward who earned WAC Player of the Year honors after a regular season in which he averaged 14.5 points, 7.9 rebounds and shot better than 59 percent from the field. Basically, he was the best player on the best team, and he is a savvy enough passer that he can run the offense from the post. Junior PG Brockeith Pane averaged 11.2 points in the regular season, and sharp-shooting G Brian Green came off the bench to hit 46.8 percent of his 3-pointers (72 of 154) and average 10.8 points. Senior guards Pooh Williams and Tyler Newbold are 3-point threats who have each earned WAC Defensive Player of the Year honors -- Newbold this season, Williams last season. F Brady Jardine is another energy guy who comes off the bench, scraps for everything around the basket and can finish with a flourish. He averaged 7.9 points and 7.4 rebounds in only 22 minutes per game in the regular season.
X FACTOR: Utah State has had trouble recently in the NCAA tournament, in part because big-time, big-conference teams can put a check on the Aggies' efficient motion offense. Last season, Utah State shot just 38.7 percent vs. Texas A&M. The year before that, the Aggies shot 41.5 percent vs. Marquette. They combined for just 110 points in those games. With basically the same cast returning from those teams, the difference could be Pane, who is more athletic than the typical Utah State point guard and who can create in one-on-one opportunities when everything else stalls.
STRENGTHS: Utah State is deep and has one of the most experienced teams in the country, with five seniors and two juniors among its top seven scorers. Considering many are returned missionaries, the average age of those seven is nearly 23 years old. As always, the Aggies shoot the ball extremely well from every distance -- 47.2 percent from the field in the regular season, 37.2 percent from 3-point range and 73.3 percent from the line.
WEAKNESSES: The Aggies aren't the most battle-tested of teams, losing by six at BYU in the second game of the season and losing at Georgetown, 68-51. Utah State did polish its resume with a win at Saint Mary's in the BracketBusters event in February, but critics will point to the team's poor strength of schedule. Overall athleticism has been an issue as Utah State has lost five consecutive first-round games in the NCAA tournament.
