All hail the Utah State Aggies

We don't wish to be so matter-of-fact about it and Stew Morrill definitely won't dance when he reads this (as if he reads PTW!) but Utah State is going to be the winner of the WAC in league play this season.

Now some will be inflamed by such a prediction (hey, it stands until any empirical evidence proves otherwise) and others will poking fun for our 'walk on the wild side' with such a prognostication.

For those who get their communications delivered to their very own bat cave, Utah State toppled Nevada last night so let's get right to it.

Utah State basketball: Aggies win in Logan with a 2nd-half flurry
Jared Eborn
Deseret News
January 30, 2009

LOGAN — Utah State's Stavon Williams was lost. He had no idea where he was or what was going on.

Stew Morrill, the Aggies' sometimes-grumpy coach, had no problem with it.

"I got dizzy, man," Williams said of the ear-splitting sounds cascading from the packed seats in the Spectrum as Utah State beat Nevada 72-61 Thursday night. "It got so loud I forgot where I was at..."

Go here for the remainder.

Jared Eborn has more here.

Here's Shawn Harrison with his report:

Second-half charge
Shawn Harrison
The Herald Journal
January 30, 2009

To win a fight, you usually need several different punches.

Utah State took some blows in the first half, but came out with more than enough different combinations to take care of five-time Western Athletic Conference champion Nevada in the second half. In a battle for supremacy in men’s basketball, the Aggies took the first round in convincing fashion Thursday night at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum in front of 10,023 boisterous fans.

The Wolf Pack went through several dryspells over the final 20 minutes, while USU pulled away for a 72-61 win.

“We just competed better in the second half,” USU head coach Stew Morrill said. “... The message at halftime was we needed to compete, which I think we did in the second half.”

Trailing 34-30 at halftime, the Aggies (20-1, 8-0 WAC) went to work inside with Tai Wesley. The sophomore forward scored 11 straight points for USU on different moves in the paint...

Go here for the remainder.

Here's Chris Murray with his take:

Pack basketball: Nevada stalls in Utah
Chris Murray
Reno Gazette-Journal
January 30, 2009

LOGAN, Utah -- The Nevada basketball team walked off the court with a swagger Thursday after the first half against Utah State. By the time the game came to a close, it was a stagger.

After taking a 34-30 lead into halftime in its Western Athletic Conference showdown with the Aggies, the Wolf Pack crumbled in the second half under the muscle of Tai Wesley and the silky shooting of Stavon Williams.

Wesley, who finished with a game-high 22 points, started the second half by scoring the Aggies' first 11 points. Williams then sparked a 17-0 run midway through the half with eight consecutive points -- a reverse layup, followed by a pair of 3-pointers -- to bury the Wolf Pack, 72-61, before 10,023 rowdy fans at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.

"They put together a run in the second half and we couldn't withstand it," Nevada's Armon Johnson said.

Teammate Brandon Fields agreed: "The first half we were more focused and we were more hungry. They scored a couple of times in the second half at the beginning and we kind of got down on ourselves..."

Go here for the remainder.

Murray has a big batch of post-game quotes here.

Plus, Idaho nabbed a big win over rival Boise State. Nick Jezierny has the

Idaho men's basketball snaps 14-game losing skid against Boise State
After the game, BSU's Anthony Thomas says he'll never lose to Vandals again.
Nick Jezierny
Idaho Statesman
1/30/09

MOSCOW - The streak may be over, but the rivalry between the Boise State and Idaho men's basketball programs certainly is alive and well.

The Vandals snapped a 14-game futility streak against the Broncos, grabbing a hard-earned 63-59 victory over the Broncos on Thursday in front of a revved-up crowd of 4,731 at the Cowan Spectrum.

Moments after Idaho fans stormed the floor to celebrate their first win against the Broncos since Feb. 17, 2001, Boise State junior point guard Anthony Thomas vowed it wouldn't happen again on his watch.

"It was horrible," Thomas said. "I didn't want to be a part of the first team to lose to them. I heard that they guaranteed victory today, and they did that. ... They stormed the court, and it hurt. I will never feel like that again. You can quote it or do what you want - Anthony Thomas will never lose to the Idaho Vandals again as long as he plays here..."

Go here for the remainder.

Hawaii broke a losing streak with a road win in Ruston:

'Bows beat buzzer, Bulldogs
Balocka's putback as time expires propels UH past LaTech, 54-53
Advertiser Staff and News Services
January 29, 2009

The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team is hoping a putback will put it back in the right direction.

Petras Balocka scored on a putback as the final horn sounded, ending weeks of frustration with a 54-53 road victory over Louisiana Tech yesterday at Ruston, La.

A crowd of 1,671 at the Thomas Assembly Center left in silence when the referees ruled that the basket was good after reviewing video of the final play.

"What can I say? I got lucky," Balocka said. "The ball bounced my way and I knew time was running out. There wasn't time to think about it, really. Just tip it..."

Go here for the remainder.

Finally, New Mexico State played the stronger and more even game against San Jose State and swept the season series with a victory in Las Cruces. Jason Groves has the details.

Jahmar Young's 32 points help Aggie men's basketball team rally past San Jose State Spartans
Jason Groves
Las Cruces Sun-News
1/30/2009

LAS CRUCES - Nothing has come easy for the New Mexico State University men's basketball team this season.

On Thursday, the Aggies led by as many as 14 points twice before finally holding off San Jose State, 89-81 in front of 6,194 at the Pan American Center.

"I don't care if we win by one point or a half of a point," Aggies sophomore guard Jahmar Young said. "Those guys can light it up."

The Aggies snapped a two-game Western Athletic Conference skid to improve to 4-4 in the league with 2-6 Hawaii coming to town on Saturday. San Jose State fell to 3-5 in league play...

Go here for the remainder.

Here Jason Groves' blog entry.

Sam Wasson's Daily Aggie is here, including a bunch of game photos.