Utah State basketball: Marquette presents 'all kinds of problems' for Aggies

BOISE — Utah State is on a roll, having won four games in a row and polishing off a Western Athletic Conference Tournament title in style. But if the 30-4 Aggies want to avoid another one-and-done trip to the NCAA Tournament, they will have to play, perhaps, their best game of the year against, perhaps, the toughest opponent they've seen since tangling with Kansas in the 2003 tourney.

"They are probably going to be the best team we've played," USU coach Stew Morrill said of the 24-9 Golden Eagles, "which is what you'd expect for a team from the Big East."

The Aggies have the best seeding they've had since they were a No. 10 seed in 1988. USU — now a No. 11 seed after being a 12 seed or lower each of the past six trips to the NCAA tourney — might theoretically assume it is getting a more beatable opponent this year than when the Ags lined up against the likes of Kansas, Arizona and Connecticut in recent years.

But the Golden Eagles of Marquette might be one of the toughest No. 6 seeds in memory.

"They are as good as I thought they were," USU coach Stew Morrill said of his experience breaking down MU game film. "They present all kinds of problems."

Chief among those problems is senior shooting guard Jerel McNeal.

The 6-foot-3 was named first team All-Big East after leading Marquette in scoring with a 19.7-points-per-game average. As if that alone wasn't enough to worry about, McNeal is also one of the best defenders in the country and a likely lottery pick in this year's NBA draft. He was named the Big East defensive player of the year in 2007 and averaged more than two steals per game this season.

Joining McNeal on the perimeter is 6-5 combo player Wesley Matthews. A second-team All-Big East selection, the senior has started more than 100 games in a row for Marquette and scores 18.4 per game (fifth in the Big East) while also grabbing 5.6 rebounds per game.

"They're not exactly a slouch," Morrill said of the Eagles, which finished 'only' in fifth place in the conference standings. "I really think we better be able to help each other (on defense) or it's going to be a long morning."

Hopeful Aggie fans might point to the losing skid the Golden Eagles have been on recently — Marquette has lost five of six games since starting point guard Dominic James broke his foot and was lost for the season — but a careful look at those games shows Marquette has not necessarily fallen apart.

Those losses include setbacks to No. 1 seeds Louisville, Connecticut and Pittsburgh as well as No. 3 seeds Syracuse and Villanova. Three of those losses came in overtime or by fewer than five points.