Utah State basketball: In a nutshell

Aggies must stop: Jerel McNeal. The 6-3 senior guard scores 19.7 points, grabs 4.6 boards and dishes out 4.0 assists per game. He's fast, athletic and can fly to the rim. Hits 40.2 percent on his 3-point tries and has hoisted 204 from deep this year.

Aggies will win if Tai Welsey and Gary Wilkinson can stay out of foul trouble, control the glass and provide solid help-side defense to prevent drives to the bucket. USU must contain McNeal and Wesley Matthews. The MU wing players are as fast and athletic as USU has seen in a long time. Keeping them in check and preventing quick transition baskets off Aggie turnovers is a must.

Aggies will lose if they turn the ball over a lot and allow MU to run, gun and finish at the rim. Jared Quayle, Tyler Newbold and Pooh Williams will need big-time defensive efforts to slow the Golden Eagles down. If USU's precision offense is disrupted, it can impact the flow of Morrill's system and prevent the Aggies from getting quality looks at the basket.

Morrill says: "They are as good a team as I thought they were. They present all kind of problems ... our ability to guard them is going to be key in the game."