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Logan • Eight days ago, Stew Morrill threw down the gauntlet.
His Utah State team was average, not very good and needed to get a lot better in order to go on the road and beat Nevada on Saturday afternoon.
Now we get to see if the Aggies have improved with a week's worth of practice.
"We've been OK," Morrill said. "We've got good kids and they've been responding a little bit to my tantrum. We always want better practices, we seek perfection. But they've been good."
USU will have to be in order to beat the Wolf Pack. Yes, Nevada is 4-11, but its overall talent well exceeds its record.
Dario Hunt and Olek Czyz are two of the best big men in the Western Athletic Conference. Adding scoring punch is Malik Story, a well-traveled shooting guard who can score points from the 3-point line in bunches.
The Wolf Pack are athletic, and big. But they have precious little experience, which makes it tough going against the Aggies.
"Their record is extremely deceiving," Morrill said. "Czyz, since he's been back, has changed their team. I'm extremely impressed with Nevada's talent level. Every player in the starting lineup can pretty much do a little bit of everything."
Tai Wesley, to this point of the season, has been Utah State's best player, a beast in the post who has, for the most part, stayed out of the foul problems that have plagued him his entire career.
The Aggies also are relying on Brockeith Pane to play a major role as well. Rebounding may be the most important element for USU, as Hunt and Czyz are both burly, athletic players, capable of dominating in the paint.
"I think anytime you're trying to do something special, it's a challenge every game," Morrill said. "To win a fourth straight title is unimaginable. We just need to go out and play basketball, play hard and see what we can do."
tjones@sltrib.comTwitter: @tonyaggieville