How Utah State Can Win MWC Regular Season Title
Feb 25, 2019, 6:49 PM | Updated: Feb 26, 2019, 3:41 pm
Jeff Hunter
LOGAN, Utah – The Utah State Aggies are the surprise pick in the Mountain West and with two wins at home, could be a historical week for the team in the Logan.
They will face the San Diego State Aztecs on Tuesday night that begins the most important since they joined the Mountain West Conference during the 2013-14 season.
Utah State is currently in second place in the conference standings, just a half game behind No. 12 Nevada. San Diego State is a game and a half behind the Aggies for second place and Fresno State is two games behind USU.
The Aggies have just three games left in their regular season, two at home and one on the road. They will host San Diego State and then will clash with Nevada on Saturday in Logan. They will round out their schedule on Tuesday, March 5 at Colorado State. Utah State is searching for their first ever Mountain West Conference regular season title.
Nevada has four games remaining on their schedule, two at home and two on the road. They will host UNLV on Wednesday before traveling to the Spectrum on Saturday. The Wolfpack will face Air Force on March 5 on the road before hosting San Diego State on Saturday, March 9.
San Diego State has four games remaining on their schedule with two at home and away from home. They will travel to Utah State on Tuesday and host San Jose State on Saturday. The Aztecs will host Fresno State on Wednesday, March 6 and travel to No. 12 Nevada on Saturday, March 9.
Fresno State has the easiest end to their schedule with their last three games facing Wyoming at home, at San Diego State, before hosting San Jose State on Saturday, March 9.
The Aggies could take the No. 1-seed to Las Vegas and the Mountain West Conference Tournament, or they could fall to No. 4 depending on results down the final stretch of the regular season.
How To Win Conference Title
A win over the Aztecs, Wolfpack and Rams, would put the Aggies at 15-3 in the conference. That would give Nevada at least one loss. If the Wolfpack lost to the Aggies but beat UNLV, Air Force and San Diego State, that would put them at 15-3 in conference play.
The tiebreaker could get a little tricky but would need to wait until the final games are played for those possible scenarios to appear.
Nevada’s two losses this season are at New Mexico and at San Diego State. If the Aztecs can beat the Wolfpack in Reno, while the Aggies beat Nevada in Logan on Saturday, Utah State would win the regular season title in the Mountain West Conference and a No. 1-seed in the tournament.
How They Finish Second Place
The Aggies would need a win over San Diego State on Tuesday to almost certainly secure the No. 2-seed in the conference tournament. If they lose to Nevada and Colorado State though and the Aztecs beat Nevada again, they would take the second spot.
Utah State would need to win two of their next three games to secure the second best record in the conference and getting a first round bye in the tournament. The top five teams receive byes in the first round.
Conference Tournament History
Since joining the Mountain West Conference, fifth place was the highest seed the Aggies have received, that was in 2015. They lost to Wyoming in the first round.
They finished seventh once, that was last season. They won two games in the tournament, including a victory over No. 2-seed Boise State. Utah State lost to No. 3-seed New Mexico in the semifinals.
The Aggies entered the tournament as the No. 8-seed twice. The first time was in 2013-14, where they beat Colorado State in the first round, but lost to top seed SDSU in the quarterfinals.
Last time they were in eighth place entering the tournament was during the 2016-17 season. They won their opening round game, before losing to No. 1-seed Nevada in the quarterfinals.
The lowest seed the Aggies have ever had in the MWC tournament was in 2015-16, when they were ninth. They beat Wyoming in the first round, before ultimately losing to top-seed SDSU in the quarterfinals.
Utah State will face San Diego State on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
