This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Tucson, Ariz. • The eyes of Tai Wesley and Pooh Williams were red and watery when they took their seats for Utah State's postgame news conference on Thursday night, a sure sign that USU's locker room saw more than its share of tears in the wake of a 73-68 loss to Kansas State.
No doubt the Aggies were disappointed with their tentative play for the first 30 minutes of the Southeast region second-round matchup. And no doubt Utah State is well aware of the opportunity that was squandered.
If ever the stars aligned for the Aggies to make a run through the NCAA Tournament, this was the year. Six seniors, a dominant low-post presence in Wesley, a slashing point guard in Brockeith Pane, a flu-ridden star on the opposing team in Jacob Pullen, a team looking to make a point because it felt slighted by the NCAA Selection Committee.
It was all there for Utah State to take advantage of. Instead the same nightmare of last year played itself out at the McKale Center.
"We just had a really tough stretch against K-State in the first half where we just didn't function well," USU coach Stew Morrill said. "They took us out of everything we were trying to do with the pressure and their athleticism."
And that's the confusing part. Texas A&M did that exact thing to Utah State last season. Marquette did it in 2009.
For three consecutive seasons the Aggies went to the tournament and took a full half to "adjust" to the physical play of their respective opponents. Once, against Marquette, Utah State was able to recover and put itself in position to win, and in that case the Aggies were fully fortunate to have a Spectrum-like atmosphere at their disposal in Boise.
The other two times? USU never had a chance to win the game, despite a late rally on Thursday night that made the score look closer than the contest really was.
"We made it tough for ourselves," Williams said. "Anytime you get down against a good team, it's going to be tough to try and get back into the game. "
During the week leading up to the matchup, the Aggies talked of starting off strong, of realizing how physical the Wildcats would be. They spoke of not having an adjustment period to get used to the speed.
But the only time they seemed to play loose was in the last seven minutes, when the game was all but decided. For the senior class, it was a bittersweet ending for a season that saw 30 wins in 34 games, a Western Athletic Conference title and a third straight trip to the Big Dance.
But with Thursday night's loss, Utah State has lost seven consecutive NCAA Tournament games, with the last win coming over Ohio State in 2001, a streak that's becoming more and more glaring by the year.
tjones@sltrib.comTwitter: @tonyaggieville