This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Logan • Utah State's new season tips off Saturday night against San Jose State.
According to coach Tim Duryea, the Aggies are starting over after two crushing defeats in the last week ended their chances of earning a first-round bye during the upcoming Mountain West Conference tournament.
Last-minute losses at Fresno State and Nevada dropped Utah State's record to 13-13 overall and 5-10 in the league.
The Aggies can still finish as high as sixth in the Mountain West, but only the top five teams receive a bye. So Duryea wants his team to start fresh, knowing that a strong finish to the regular season would provide momentum going into the tournament.
"We want to be 0-0 right now," he said. "That's the way we look at ourselves, with two of our last three at home. … We've talked for the last couple of weeks about the tournament. It's not going to be about the seed or the standings. It's going to be about who's playing well — who's playing with confidence."
San Diego State has already clinched the Mountain West championship and the No. 1 seed in the tournament.
After the Aztecs, however, the league is incredibly balanced. There is little difference between the No. 2 team — currently Fresno State — and last-place San Jose State.
In fact, one of the Spartans' three conference wins this season was a 65-53 victory over the Bulldogs.
"Our guys don't have the mindset that the whole league is better than us," Duryea said. "I think their mindset is we can play with any team on a neutral floor. … Some teams have won more close games; some teams have lost more close games. That's the dividing line in the conference this year."
Utah State, of course, has lost more close games than it has won. The Aggies are 1-5 in Mountain West games that have been decided in the final minute.
On Wednesday night at Nevada, USU rallied from a seven-point deficit with two minutes left and had a chance to take the lead. But Jalen Moore's layup with 34 seconds remaining was blocked and the Wolf Pack iced the game from the free-throw line.
Duryea said the Aggies were "a little more down after the Nevada game" than they have been after some other close losses.
"They felt like they'd played well enough to win," he said. "… But this has been a resilient group, after all they've been through this year, and I'm hoping they don't lose that now."
Utah State has already beaten San Jose State this season.
On Dec. 30, the Aggies scored an 80-71 victory over the Spartans, who trailed by as many as 16 points but got within four.
"They are a team similar to us," Duryea said. "They've played some close games. They've been in a lot of games for long stretches. They just haven't finished them with wins. But I'm impressed with their size, their versatility and how hard they play defensively."
Twitter: @sluhm -
Utah State vs. San Jose State
P At the Spectrum
Tipoff • 7 p.m.
Radio • 610 AM, 95.9 FM, 97.5 FM, 102.1 FM
Records • Utah State 13-13, 5-10; San Jose State 8-19, 3-12
Series • Utah State, 56-21
Last meeting • Utah State, 80-71 (Dec. 30)
About the Aggies • They are 9-5 at home. … They've won 23 of their past 24 games against San Jose State, including 17 straight. … They are 3-12 when being out-rebounded this season. … Top scorers are junior F Jalen Moore (15.1) and senior G Chris Smith (14.8). … Moore has scored at least 10 points in 23 games this season, including eight in a row.
About the Spartans • They have not won in Logan since 1982. … They have lost four straight games. … They come off a 78-56 loss to conference-leading San Diego State, although the game was tied with 15 minutes left. … Their top scorers are senior F Frank Rogers (12.2), freshman F Ryan Welage (11.0) and senior G Prince Onwas (10.5). … Onwas is a transfer from the University of Utah.