Utah State basketball: Aggies close out vs. SJSU

LOGAN — Despite losing two of its previous three WAC games, Utah State is the conference champion — and by a comfortable margin. The Aggies, who close out the regular season at home tonight against San Jose State, have been locked into the conference tournament for nearly two weeks and will probably end the regular season with at least a three-game advantage in the final conference standings.

Which raises the question: How will the 26-4 Aggies motivate themselves tonight?

The answer lies in the building they play in.

Winners of the past 33 games played at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, Utah State enjoys one of the best home-court advantages in college basketball, and preserving that streak is important — even if the game has little impact on the overall season.

"You always want to protect your home court. We have only had something like four undefeated home seasons in history," USU coach Stew Morrill said. "If we could put together back-to-back that would be special."

No current member of the Aggie basketball team has lost in Logan. Gary Wilkinson, the team's only senior, would like to keep it that way.

"We take a lot of pride in this place," said Wilkinson, who needs only 21 points to join USU's 1,000-point club. "I think playing in the Spectrum is a special experience. It's one of the reasons I came to play here. So I want to make sure we go out the right way."

Standing in the way of Utah State's 34th consecutive home win are the Spartans — a team that got drubbed by 23 points at Nevada two nights ago.

San Jose State, 13-15 overall and 6-9 WAC, has not won in the Spectrum since 1982, but Morrill is still worried.

"San Jose State has always been tough on us. We have had a lot of tight ballgames with them, and I don't expect it to be any different on Saturday," Morrill said. "Their talent level is good, and they block shots like crazy."

With five starters returning, many expected SJSU to contend for the WAC title. That hasn't happened, but the Spartans still bring some firepower to tonight's game.

Sophomore guard Adrian Oliver averages 18.2 points per game, and junior forward Tim Pierce chips in 12.9.

But Utah State, for the first time since conference play began, has had plenty of time to prepare. Its last game was a week ago at Nevada. And though that was the Aggies' third loss in five games, it set the team up to rest and recover.