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Las Vegas • Millions of visitors come to Las Vegas looking for good fortune.
Utah State is hoping for some, too.
The Aggies open the Mountain West Conference men's basketball tournament Wednesday against Wyoming at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Utah State is 15-14 this season — going 1-6 in Mountain West games decided by seven points or less. No game summed up Utah State's season like its 86-85 loss to Fresno State in the regular-season finale.
The Aggies led by 18 points in the first half, by 10 midway through the second half and by three with one minute remaining. But the Bulldogs parlayed two Utah State turnovers, an unnecessary intentional foul and free-throw shooting into a one-point victory that dropped USU into the tournament as the No. 9 seed. Wyoming, at 14-17, is the No. 8 seed.
Asked why his team has struggled to close out winnable games, coach Tim Duryea said, "I think the common thread is we've given up too many easy points in key situations. That has come from fatal turnovers, even though we don't turn the ball over a lot.
"We average less than 12 a game, but we have a lot of fatal turnovers at key times. We've had some breakdowns in transition defense in key times, where we just don't get back as quickly as we should, and we give up easy baskets."
Of course, being able to analyze heartbreaking defeats like the one against Fresno doesn't make them easier to digest. Duryea called it the "most disappointing regular season loss that I can remember in 10 or 11 years."
For the most part, he said, the Aggies played well enough to win. But by losing, they went from being the No. 7 seed in the tournament — on the opposite side of the bracket than regular-season champion San Diego State — to ninth.
As a result, Utah State faces Wyoming in the first round a month after the Cowboys rolled to an 84-65 win in Laramie. If USU survive, it would play the Aztecs in the quarterfinals.
"It's just a hard loss to get over," Duryea said. "… But we need to start over and get ourselves right mentally and get ourselves ready to play in the tournament."
The Aggies have plenty of experience bouncing back this season. They followed a five-game losing streak with consecutive wins over New Mexico and Colorado State. If they had hung on and beaten Fresno, they would have been 4-2 in the six games heading into the tournament.
"It's the next phase of our season," Duryea said. "We try to compartmentalize our season into the preseason, conference season and the conference tournament. Hopefully that leads to the next step of the postseason.
"This group has done a good job of recovering from tough losses. … We tell our players all the time to play forward and that they can't worry about the last play. That is the same attitude that we need in moving forward."
Twitter: @sluhm —
Utah State vs. Wyoming
P At the Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas
Tipoff • Noon MT
TV • Mountain West Network
Radio • 610 AM, 1280 AM, 95.9 FM, 97.5 FM, 102.1 FM
Records • Utah State 15-14, 7-11; Wyoming 14-17, 7-11
Series • Wyoming, 48-25
Last meeting • Wyoming 84, Utah State 65 (Feb. 6)
About the Aggies • They have won two of their past three games. … Their top scorers are senior G Chris Smith (15.2) and junior F Jalen Moore (15.1). … Smith in second in the Mountain West in 3-point shooting (.450). … Moore has scored at least 10 points in 26 of 29 games, including 11 straight. … They have lost three of their past four games against Wyoming, including a 67-65 defeat in the MWC quarterfinals in 2015. .. Smith and Moore were named to the Mountain West coaches' all-conference third team, it was announced Tuesday.
About the Cowboys • They are defending MWC tournament champions. … They are led by senior G Josh Adams, who leads the conference in scoring (24.9). He also averages 4.2 assists. … Junior G Jason McManamen averages 14.1 points. According to Utah State coach Tim Duryea, he has the quickest release in the conference. … In his sixth season at Wyoming, coach Larry Shyatt's record is 116-77. —
MWC tournament
At The Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas
Wednesday's First Round
Wyoming vs. Utah State, Noon
UNLV vs. Air Force, 2:30 p.m.
Colorado St. vs. San Jose St., 5 p.m.
Thursday's Quarterfinals
San Diego St. vs. Wyoming-USU, 1 p.m.
New Mexico vs. Nevada, 3:30 p.m.
Fresno St. vs. UNLV-Air Force, 7 p.m.
Boise S. vs. Colorado St.-San Jose St., 9:30 p.m.
Friday's Semifinals
San Diego St.—Wyoming-Utah St. vs. New Mexico-Nevada, 7 p.m.
Fresno St.—UNLV-Air Force vs. Boise St. —Colorado St.-San Jose St., 9:30 p.m.
Saturday's Championship
Semifinal winners, 6 p.m.