This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
So, on Sunday, one week before Selection Sunday, Virginia Commonwealth defeated George Mason in the semifinals of the CAA tournament.
While this doesn't really affect Utah State, the Aggies should watch closely. You see, GMU's going to the NCAA tournament no matter what, with its strong strength of schedule, and abundance of quality wins. Which means, if VCU goes on the defeat Old Dominion, and the Monarch's are going to the tournament no matter what as well, that means VCU has become a bid stealer, which is a team that won't otherwise qualify for the Big Dance unexpectedly winning its conference tournament.
The more bid stealers there are, the more the bubble shrinks, and if pundits are to be believed, Utah State's still on the bubble. The Aggies are on the right side of the bubble, but still no doubt on it.
All of which means, USU needs to remove all doubt by winning the WAC tournament, which the Aggies didn't do last season.
Tony Jones