GAME NOTES: The Utah State Aggies try to extend the final season under head coach Stew Morrill as they take on the Wyoming Cowboys in the quarterfinals of the 16th annual Mountain West Conference Tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center on Thursday.

Morrill, who has been a fixture in Logan for 17 seasons, announced that this would be his last campaign with USU, the fifth seed in this year's tournament. Sporting a record of only 1-1 in the event since coming over from the Western Athletic Conference like so many other current MWC members, the Aggies finished in a tie for fourth place in the league standings with fourth-seeded Wyoming at 11-7, although Utah State closed out the regular season with back- to-back defeats.

As for the Cowboys, who lost in their only MWC Tournament title game appearance in overtime to San Diego State back in 2006, they bowed in three of the last four outings on the schedule. The team built up some early momentum with some easy non-conference targets, but was then brought back to reality when Larry Nance, Jr. was sidelined with an illness.

As far as the all-time series between these teams is concerned, Wyoming is ahead by a count of 46-25, the Pokes posting two wins in three tries on neutral floors. During the regular season, the squads split a pair of meetings, with USU capturing a 56-44 win at home near the end of January and Wyoming returning the favor with a 76-53 blowout eight days ago at Arena- Auditorium.

The winner of this meeting will move into the semifinals on Friday to clash with the survivor of the Air Force/Boise State meeting for the right to battle for the tournament title on Saturday evening.

The good news for the Aggies is that they are the only team in the Mountain West with three players in the top-10 in scoring, as Jalen Moore puts up 15.1 ppg, David Collette 12.9 ppg and Chris Smith following close behind with his 12.7 ppg. But it not so much the offense that makes a winner out of the Aggies, instead it is a defense, one that is a perfect 10-0 when holding opponents to under 60 points. Unfortunately, at the other end of the spectrum, when Utah State surrenders 70 points or more, it has celebrated just once in eight such endeavors.

During conference play, Utah State has been quite good at knocking down 3- pointers, converting at a 42.2 percent clip, which is head and shoulders above the competition at only 31.5 percent. However, a sore spot for the group seems to be the free-throw line where they are just 63.4 percent accurate over those 18 league outings.

The key to success for the Cowboys is the play of Nance Jr. His presence in the paint can and will cause issues for Utah State at both ends of the floor, as he is capable of defending (33 blocked shots, 35 steals) and generating offense (16.1 ppg) all while pulling down 7.4 rpg. A 52.5 percent shooter from the floor, Nance Jr. was recognized as one of the top players in the league, even though he missed a handful of games with mononucleosis.

Adding some punch to the Wyoming lineup is Josh Adams with his 12.5 ppg, not to mention a team-best 112 assists and 43 thefts as he displays quick hands at both ends of the floor. Riley Grabau, who averaged 34 minutes per game, is the top perimeter option with 36.7 percent accuracy, his amazing 95.1 percent effort at the free-throw line leading to 9.0 ppg.

As much as the Aggies would like the campaign to continue for the sake of coach Morrill, if Nance Jr. is back to 100 percent you have to think Wyoming has the advantage in this meeting.