This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Bracketology is less of a science than it is a bit of a guessing game, but some of the top national bracket prognosticators are putting their bets on Utah State basketball to win the WAC this year.
A rundown of some of the places the Aggies are getting some props:
• ESPN's Joe Lunardi has Utah State as a No. 14 seed playing in the Western regional.
• Sports Illustrated's Andy Glockner places the Aggies also in San Jose, but as a No. 13 seed in the South region.
• College Sports Madness has Utah State as a No. 13 seed as well.
Before you get too excited, CBSSports' Jerry Palm has the Aggies out, favoring Denver instead.
Calling tournament berths before any games have been played is not very reassuring for fans, but it shows that experts forsee an improvement from Utah State's fourth-place finish last season. The Aggies are hoping for a WAC championship in their final season in the conference, especially considering the shifting nature of the league.
It might be worth noting that St. Mary's and BYU are the only scheduled opponents Utah State has that appear on these brackets. Some fans have complained that the Aggies consistently have a weak schedule, and this year won't do much to dissuade that notion.
Other relevant links and predictions for the 2012-2013 season:
• Ken Pomeroy has the Aggies ranked No. 98 in his stat-heavy listing.
• Preston Medlin has gotten preseason accolades outside his selection as preseason WAC player of the year: CBSSports' Jeff Goodman lists Medlin as his No. 27 shooter on his top 50 list of best shooters in college basketball. SI's Glockner lists him as a mid-major impact player.
— Kyle Goon
Twitter: @kylegoon