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Las Vegas • Heading into the Mountain West Conference tournament, which starts Thursday at the Thomas & Mack Center, Utah State appears capable of a deep run.
It wasn't always so. The Aggies opened the season with little experience, no proven depth and a road-oriented schedule that was not exactly filled with cream puffs.
It showed in the beginning, too. Utah State got off to a 3-4 start, and it could have been worse except for narrow wins over Utah Valley, Cal-Bakersfield and Idaho State. The Aggies looked like a team picked 10th in an 11-team league and, in hindsight, coach Stew Morrill knows it.
"We were bad," he said. "I mean really, really bad."
Slowly, however, Utah State improved. Eventually, it used five conference road wins and a late-season six-game winning streak to emerge as the Mountain West's most surprising team.
The Aggies finished 18-12, including 11-7 in league play. They ended up three games behind co-champions Boise State and San Diego State, and earned the Mountain West's No. 5 seed.
Morrill suggests Utah State, which opens against No. 4 Wyoming, has a legitimate chance to capture the league's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
"It's wide open," he said. "Obviously, San Diego State and Boise are probably the favorites. But you can sure see someone [else] jumping up and winning this thing — if you put together a few good days. A lot of schools, think they can go in and win it. I'd like to believe we can, too."
So what happened? What has improved at Utah State since those disconcerting early weeks of the season?
"Just everything," said sophomore Jalen Moore.
Referring to his players, Morrill said, "It's their confidence. That allows them to have a chance to win games. They are confident they can win now. And confidence is a huge part of basketball."
Consistency is a factor, too.
"We are a good offensive team, and, defensively, we've been solid," Morrill said. "Our Achilles heel has been rebounding. You can find a few games we would have won if we'd rebounded a little better. But we've gotten a lot more stable in the things we do — offensively and defensively."
Utah State's ace in the hole in Las Vegas will be its ability to make and defend 3-point shots.
The Aggies rank 20th nationally in 3-point shooting (.383). Junior Chris Smith leads the Mountain West in 3-point percentage (.472), and teammate Darius Perkins ranks third (.415).
Utah State also ranks 13th in the country in 3-point defense. Opponents shoot 29.7 percent. Only five teams have shot better than 40 percent.
"Defensively, we've come together," Moore said. "If somebody gets beat, somebody else is there for him."
Utah State split with Wyoming during the conference season. In January, the Aggies won in Logan, 56-44. Last week, the Cowboys won in Laramie, 76-53.
"We were god-awful, and they were good," Morrill said. "… If we play like [that], it will be our last game in the tournament. We have to play better."
Wyoming is led by first-team all-conference forward Larry Nance Jr., who is back after a February bout with mononucleosis.
"They are very well-coached, and they are patient," Morrill said. "They don't care if they play a 40-point game or a 60-point game; I don't think they care much for the 80s and 90s. They just wear you down with their system. You have to guard for the whole shot clock. That's not like everybody you play."
Said Moore: "They just killed us. We got beat by [23]. It was embarrassing. So it's good we have a chance to play them again."
Twitter: @sluhm —
Utah State vs. Wyoming
P At the Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas
Tipoff • Thursday, 3:30 p.m. MDT
TV • CBS Sports Network
Radio • 610 AM, 1280 AM, 95.9 FM, 102.1 FM
Records • Utah State 18-12, Wyoming 22-9
Series history • Wyoming leads 46-25
Last meeting • Wyoming, 76-53 (March 4)
About the Aggies • They have lost two straight. … They joined the Mountain West last year and went 1-1 in the conference tournament, defeating Colorado State (73-69) and losing to San Diego State (73-39). … Their top scorers are sophomore F Jalen Moore (15.1), freshman C David Collette (12.9) and junior G Chris Smith (12.7). … Smith has made 13 of his past 22 3-pointers.
About the Cowboys • They have lost three of their past four games, although they pounded Utah State by 23 points last week in Laramie. … They average 61.7 points on 32 percent 3-point shooting this season. … They have scored fewer than 60 points in 11 of their 31 games. … Their leading scorers are senior F Larry Nance Jr. (16.1) and junior G Josh Adams (12.5). —
Mountain West men's schedule
At Las Vegas:
All times MDT
Wednesday's first round
No. 9 Air Force 68, No. 8 New Mexico 61
• No. 7 UNLV 67, No. 10 Nevada 46
Thursday's quarterfinals
1 p.m. • No. 1 Boise St. (24-7) vs. No. 9 Air Force (14-16)
3:30 p.m. • No. 4 Wyoming (22-9) vs. No. 5 Utah St. (18-12)
7 p.m. • No. 2 San Diego State (24-7) vs. UNLV
9:30 p.m. • No. 3 Colorado St. (26-5) vs. No. 6 Fresno St. (15-16)
Friday's semifinals
7 p.m. • Boise St./ Air Force vs. Wyoming/Utah St.
9:30 p.m. • San Diego St./UNLV vs. Colorado St./Fresno St.
Saturday's championship
4 p.m. • Title game —
Mountain West women's schedule
At Las Vegas:
All times MDT
Monday's First round
• San Jose St. 99, Utah St. 85
• San Diego St. 70, Nevada 48
• Wyoming 70, Air Force 48
Tuesday's quarterfinals
• San Jose St. 64, Colorado St. 55
• Boise State 64, UNLV 46
• New Mexico 57, San Diego St. 56
• Fresno St. 74, Wyoming 66
Wednesday's semifinals
7 p.m. • San Jose State (15-16) vs. Boise St. (20-10)
9:30 p.m. • New Mexico (19-11) vs. Fresno State (22-8)
Friday's championship
2 p.m. • Title game