The dust, rain, snow, hail, et al settles (for now)

Let's dive right into the results from last night:

Just who is going to take down USU in The Spectrum? Rightfully so, Aggies fans will respond with why do you think that is EVER going to happen?

Good finish for Ags
Shawn Harrison
Herald Journal
March 8, 2009

There was a little bit of everything for the fans in the regular season finale at the soldout Dee Glen Smith Spectrum Saturday night.

A salute to the lone senior on the Utah State team, a 20-point lead for the home team in the first half, some drama when that senior dislocated a thumb and had to exit up the tunnel, excitement when he returned, another game that wasn’t decided until the final minutes and some more celebrating when Western Athletic Conference Commissioner Karl Benson presented the Aggies with the championship trophy for winning the regular season.

“Tonight was kind of an old-fashion shootout, and I guess for Senior Night and a packed house that’s kind of a good thing,” said USU head coach Stew Morrill after his team capped another perfect season at home with a 89-77 victory over San Jose State. “Fans had a hell of a time.”

For the first time in school history, USU has been perfect at home in back-to-back seasons. The 17-0 mark in the Spectrum this season matches the 17-0 record of a year ago as the Aggies have now won 34 in a row at home — the second longest streak in the nation to Kansas’ 41...

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Here's Jared Eborn with his report:

Senior Wilkinson perfect at home
Jared Eborn
Deseret News
March 8, 2009

LOGAN — Gary Wilkinson is in rare company.

Not only is the Utah State center a potential Western Athletic Conference player of the year, but the 6-foot-9 senior just might be the only player in Aggie history to start and win every game he played in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.

USU, which wrapped up back-to-back seasons without a home loss and improved to 27-4 overall and 14-2 in the Western Athletic Conference, pulled away from San Jose State down the stretch for an 89-77 win and Wilkinson left the court serenaded with chants of M-V-P from the sellout crowd.

"That's one reason I came here," Wilkinson, who scored 13 points despite playing with a nasty separated thumb on his left hand, said of the rowdy Spectrum crowd. "I've been so blessed with good teammates, coaches and the community ... I couldn't be happier with that."

Though USU's sports information staff couldn't verify it when the game ended, it is believed Wilkinson's mark of 34 starts and 34 wins is the best home-court record of any player in school history.

"That's a great accomplishment," Utah State coach Stew Morrill said. "Without Gary, it wouldn't have happened..."

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Watch out for the Wolf Pack! Might Mo is with Nevada as Mark Fox's team went into Boise and nabbed another victory.

Nevada wins season finale at Boise
Chris Murray
Reno Gazette-Journal
March 8, 2009

Carrying some momentum into the Western Athletic Conference Tournament won't be a problem for the Nevada basketball team.

The Wolf Pack beat Boise State, 69-60, on Saturday night at the Taco Bell Arena in Boise, Idaho, to clinch the second seed in the upcoming tournament in the team's regular-season finale. The win was Nevada's third in a row and sixth in seven games.

Brandon Fields had the hot hand in the victory over the Broncos, scoring a team-high 19 points. The junior is averaging 18 points over his past three games and has led the Wolf Pack in scoring in its last two contests.

"Brandon Fields is really playing well," Nevada coach Mark Fox said in his post-game television interview. "He's playing like an upperclassmen. He's playing real mature and has been a real key to our success over the last month."

Luke Babbitt tallied 14 points and Malik Cooke dropped in 13. Armon Johnson and Dario Hunt added nine and eight points, respectively...

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Nick Jezierny reports from Boise:

Boise State men falter in home finale
Boise State falls to Nevada, squanders chance to improve its position in the WAC Tournament.
Nick Jezierny
Idaho Statesman
3/08/09

Senior Night has become an official bummer for the Boise State men's basketball program.

With a chance to possibly climb into second place in the WAC, the Broncos were dropped to fourth after losing 69-60 to Nevada on Saturday night in front of 6,569 fans at Taco Bell Arena.

It is the third year in a row that the Bronco seniors have lost their final home game.

They can only hope that this year's loss will have the same result as last year's - it led to a refocused mission, three consecutive wins in the WAC Tournament, and the program's first NCAA Tournament bid since 1994.

"The seeding doesn't matter," senior Mark Sanchez said. "We were the four seed last year and we won it. We're going to look at it like that..."

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Idaho completed a marvelous regular season with a win over visiting Frexno State:

Electrifying comeback puts Vandals atop Bulldogs, 59-56
Vandal Nation
Travis Mason-Bushman

On Senior Night in the Cowan Spectrum, a senior playing his final game before his home crowd provided the spark that ignited a stunning, 59-56 comeback victory for the Idaho Vandals over the Fresno State Bulldogs.

With the home team down 50-48, the game clock reading 2:14 and the shot clock expiring, senior guard Trevor Morris grabbed a feed on the wing from Mac Hopson and launched the ball. Nothing but net. The 3-pointer he buried — his first points of the game — put Idaho up by one, and the Vandals would never trail again. Morris then made two big free throws in the waning seconds to ice the game.

Making the win even sweeter, the Vandals (16-14, 9-7 WAC) secured the No. 3 seed in next week’s Western Athletic Conference Tournament in Reno. Beating Fresno State, coupled with a Nevada Wolf Pack victory over the Boise State Broncos, clinched the Vandals’ highest conference seeding in 15 years. The Vandals will line up against the sixth-seed Louisiana Tech Bulldogs in the quarterfinal round at 8:30 p.m. Thursday...

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From the Fresno perspective with Daniel Lyght:

Bulldogs men crash in Idaho
Basketball team falls apart in second half to lose to Vandals.
Daniel Lyght
The Fresno Bee
March. 8, 2009

Fresno State's offense sputtered, slowed then slid off the road and stopped in the second half of Saturday night's men's basketball game against Idaho.

The Bulldogs went from holding a comfortable 46-35 lead with 10:48 to play to holding a different type of "L."

Idaho closed the game on a 24-10 run to sweep the Western Athletic Conference season series and beat the Bulldogs 59-56 in Moscow, Idaho.

Fresno State closes its regular season 12-20, 3-13 in the WAC.

Fresno State, which will begin the WAC tournament in the play-in game Tuesday, improved as the season wore on but struggled with some of the same inconsistencies throughout. One of them was foul shooting. Another was closing games. A third was boxing out on the defensive boards. All haunted the Bulldogs on Saturday...

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New Mexico State proved its mettle -- even without Jahmar Young for the first half -- with a solid win over Hawaii.

Play-in awaits 'Bows
A lackluster effort against Mexico State leaves Hawaii with a tougher task at the WAC tourney
Brian McInnis
Honolulu Star Bulletin
March 8, 2009

Hawaii and New Mexico State didn't fulfill the roles that one might expect last night at the Stan Sheriff Center. With the stakes as high as they've been all season for the Rainbow Warriors, they couldn't play their way out of the WAC tournament play-in game with a demoralizing 70-59 loss to the Aggies.

Eighth-place Hawaii (13-16, 5-11) will have to win four games in Reno, Nev., starting on Tuesday against Fresno State to qualify for the NCAA Tournament, something no other team has done in the WAC. If the Rainbows manage to beat the Bulldogs, they earn an unenviable date with top seed Utah State.

It was a disheartening blow in that UH was fighting to increase its standing and chances to succeed next week, while NMSU (16-14, 9-7) was locked into the game between the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds. It was also Hawaii's home finale.

"It's all on us," point guard Kareem Nitoto said. "Players gotta play, and we didn't show up to play. We knew what was at stake. This was a must-win game and we didn't come out and play like it was a must-win game. We came out like we were the team playing for fourth or fifth place and it really didn't matter if we won or lost. We ... played like we were crowned kings before the game started...

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Here's another Honolulu perspective:

Hawaii drops into play-in game, 70-59
Dayton Morinaga
Honolulu Advertiser

That resounding thud last night in the Stan Sheriff Center was the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team falling into the depths of a play-in game.

New Mexico State defeated the Rainbow Warriors, 70-59, in the regular-season finale before a crowd of 4,698.

A victory would have kept Hawai'i out of the dreaded play-in game for this week's Western Athletic Conference Tournament at Reno, Nev.

"We knew what was at stake," Hawai'i guard Kareem Nitoto said. "This was a must-win game and we didn't come out and play like it was a must-win game. We came out and played like we were crowned king before the game started."

Instead, the 'Bows were sent to the WAC's equivalent of a dungeon. Hawai'i finished the regular season 13-16 and on a four-game losing streak. It will be the No. 8 seed for the WAC Tournament at 5-11...

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