Utah State basketball: Aggies try to put pre-WAC struggles behind them

LOGAN — Something is wrong with Utah State hoops.

The Aggies, with four starters back and a team expected by most to win the Western Athletic Conference, are teetering on the edge of mediocrity — and not just according to its 6-4 record.

Utah State, a team that has led the nation in field goal shooting in both of the last two seasons and has won 23-games per year for more than a decade, is struggling.

And after an 'embarrassing' loss at Long Beach State on Friday, USU coach Stew Morrill colorfully described his mood when he gathered with the team Sunday to go over film.

"They hold up a sign in the Spectrum sometimes that says 'Stew is pissed,' " Morrill said. "I think that about covers it."

If there's one thing that might cure the Aggies, it's the annual holiday season tournament held on its home court. Utah State has never lost in the tournament, 26-0, and would like to see that streak continue beginning with tonight's game against Morehead State — an NCAA Tournament team from the Ohio Valley Conference last year.

Weber State and Cal State-Fullerton meet at 5:30 tonight in the Basketball Travelers Invitational. The round-robin tournament continues tomorrow and Wednesday with USU and the Wildcats meeting in the finale.

Morrill said he didn't have enough time on Saturday and Sunday to go over the film from what he called the 'Long Beach debacle' with the team. But he picked out the most important clips from the tape and let his team know its effort against the 49ers was unacceptable.

"There were no words spared," Morrill said.

And then it was on to game prep for Morehead State.

"It's very nice not to have a lot of practice ahead of us," USU forward Tai Wesley said after the loss Friday night. "It's nice just to jump in and get this nasty taste out of our mouths, and that's what we need to do. We need to bounce back and we need to get three wins."

Utah State, aside from erasing the memories of Friday night's loss at Long Beach State, will be trying to get its shooting stroke back. The Aggies combined to shoot a miserable 48 of 119 (40.3 percent) on the road against Cal State-Bakersfield and Long Beach State.

That is far from the norm at Utah State over the past several years and the season's shooting percentage has dipped to 45.6 — far below the 49.6 the Aggies used to win the national shooting crown last year.