"We are playing in Boise. You couldn't ask for a better place to play," Quayle said. "We have played there already. It will be fun."

USU senior Gary Wilkinson agreed.

"I am sure we are going to get great fan support," Wilkinson said. "We feel comfortable in that arena. We have played there before, and not much travel. It is easy on us."

Marquette, however, will not be easy on the Aggies even without a large support group or light travel schedule.

THE RISE OF QUAYLE: Wilkinson was named the player of the year in the Western Athletic Conference and the WAC Tournament MVP after leading the Aggies to a pair of net-cutting celebrations.

But ask anyone at the WAC tourney about Jared Quayle and they feeling is USU's junior point guard has been just as valuable to the Aggies' success as Wilkinson.

"Jared has done an unbelievable job. He had 10 rebounds (Saturday) night, that's amazing for a point guard," Morrill said. "He goes in and gets them amongst the trees, he just has great timing.The great thing when he gets a defensive rebound is he can lead the break like he did ... and got the three-point play."

Quayle is USU's second leading scorer (12.9), third leading rebounder (5.9) and top assist man (3.7) while shooting a solid 46 percent from the floor.

"He is confident and playing extremely well.The big part of it is he's healthy," Morrill said. "He had some foot troubles there for awhile, but he was named to the all-tournament team so it must not be too bad."

BALLOT BOYS: Utah State is back in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 after winning four straight games. The Aggies, however, are not back in the Associated Press Top 25. Utah, instead, holds that distinction after winning the MWC tourney title.

A review of the ballots provides an interesting glimpse at how the nation votes.

Utah State received 28 points in the AP balloting with 13 voters showing the Aggies some love and was ranked as high as No. 21 by ESPN's Dick Vitale.

Utah appeared on 29 ballots, led by a No. 16 from the Harrisburg (Pa.) Patriot-News' Dave Jones. Vitale ranked the Utes No.24.

USU's first round opponent, Marquette, is No. 23 in the AP and No. 24 in the USA Today/ESPN poll. Vitale, interestingly, did not include the Golden Eagles on his ballot this week.

E-mail: jeborn@desnews.com

NCAA first round

Utah State (30-4) vs. Marquette (24-9)

Taco Bell Arena, Boise

Friday, 10:30 a.m.

TV: CBS

Radio: 1230 AM, 610 AM, 95.9 FM