Utah State forward Great Osobor (1) makes a moves towards the basket past Fresno State guard Isaiah Pope (21) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the quarterfinal round of the Mountain West Conference tournament, Thursday, March 14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule) Photos by Ian Maule / Associated Press Photo Gallery sponsored by The Logo Shop, your source for teams, businesses and booster clubs. Visit http://welogostuff.mypromohq.com/ Click on photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery Fresno State center Enoch Boakye (13) reacts after being called for a foul against Utah State during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the quarterfinal round of the Mountain West Conference tournament, Thursday, March 14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule) Utah State forward Great Osobor (1) drives to the basket past Fresno State guard Xavier DuSell (53) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the quarterfinal round of the Mountain West Conference tournament, Thursday, March 14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule) Utah State guard Javon Jackson (22) shoots against Fresno State during the first half of an NCAA college basketball

LAS VEGAS — A lot of stories are enjoyable enough that you want to tell them twice. Utah State seemed to be under that impression as it had to fend off Fresno State in overtime for a second time this season. Back on Feb. 27, the Aggies won by four points in overtime against Fresno State, needing a last-second long 3-pointer from Darius Brown just to force the extra period, and USU pulled away in that extra time. Thursday’s Mountain West Tournament second round matchup between the Aggies and Bulldogs didn’t have the same last-minute heroics — especially not for USU — but the overtime story remained the same. Utah State outscored Fresno State 17-5 in the free basketball portion of the game to secure the 87-75 win and advance to the semifinal. “We just knew we had to go take it in overtime. We were just prepared,” USU sophomore guard Javon Jackson said. “As soon as we seen it was going to OT, we thought, yeah, we’re finna take this and dominate.” Utah State started both halves — and overtime — with stellar runs, opening up a 16-8 lead in the first half and a 51-42 lead early in

Utah State’s Darius Brown II drives against Fresno State’s Isaac Taveras during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Fresno, Calif., Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Gary Kazanjian) LOGAN – Utah State’s opener in the Mountain West Tournament will be against a team it’s both dominated and struggled against: Fresno State. In the first meeting, the Aggies rolled by 21 points at home on Jan. 20. In the second, on Feb. 27, USU needed a last-second three from Darius Brown to force overtime where victory was eventually achieved. The latter game is an easy avenue to ensure Utah State doesn’t overlook its opponent, but head coach Danny Sprinkle believes his team isn’t overlooking anyone regardless. “They have our guys’ respect,” Sprinkle said. “Everybody in the league has all year. And you don’t go 14-4 if you’re overlooking people. Our guys have done a great job of that. They know how talented (Fresno State’s) guards are and their bigs. They know how much we have to clean up.” Fresno State will maintain its trend of looking different each time the Aggies face it. In the Feb. 27 road game, the Bulldogs were missing nearly all of its rostered

The regular season has come to a close and it’s been one of the best in recent memory. The Mountain West has seven legit teams in its ranks and most of those top seven split series with each other. It’s setting up a conference tournament that could be one for the ages. All previous matchups go out the window. The regular season crown has gone to Utah State, but there’s another one up for grabs, and it has a very desirable benefit attached — a punched ticket to the NCAA Tournament. This will be the final week with entries regarding the standings and rankings, so my own power rankings and the average computer rankings have reached their final state. Next week’s final Mountain West Watch will be entirely about the NCAA Tournament and the matchups for all teams that end up making it (with some recap of the conference tournament). Final Standings, AP Poll The regular season finale brings the standings to its final state. Here’s how each of the teams finished, along with AP Poll ranks, if applicable (parenthesis for teams not in the top 25 itself, but receiving votes in the poll, the number being where they’d rank

Kayla Ard. Photo by Lorene Hale LOGAN, Utah — Utah State University Vice President and Director of Athletics Diana Sabau announced on Sunday that head women’s basketball coach Kayla Ard has been relieved of her duties after four seasons. Ard, the ninth head coach in program history, guided the Aggies to an overall record of 24-90, which included a 10-62 mark in the Mountain West. “We appreciate everything Kayla and her staff have contributed to Utah State,” said Sabau. “However, it is in the best interest of the program to make a change.” A national search for Utah State’s next head women’s basketball coach will begin immediately. Free News Delivery by Email Would you like to have the day’s news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start! Source link