Turning Points: Utah State basketball year in review


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LOGAN — Put Season 1 of the Mountain West Conference in the books for Utah State basketball.

The season had every possible scenario happen: the Aggies got off to a hot start; had a leading player got suspended; had the suspended player return; experienced injuries; suffered through long losing streaks; mounted impressive winning streaks; posted impossible comeback wins; and finally, endured a blowout loss.

Indeed, just about anything that could happen to a basketball team happened to the Aggies in 2013-14.

Despite all of the issues and bumps and bruises along the way, Utah State finished with an 18-14 record that continues coach Stew Morrill’s streak of non-losing seasons in Logan.

While the temperature of the fan base is cool after the 73-39 loss to San Diego State in the second round of the Mountain West Conference tournament Thursday, there are some things the Aggies can take pride in heading into the offseason.

#USU

The season is best looked at in terms of analyzing critical moments and how the Aggies responded. Indeed, there were five crucial moments that defined Utah State’s season, and they varied from high to low.

NOV. 30, 2013: BYU 85, UTAH STATE 74

Coming into this game, the Aggies were sitting at 5-0, including home wins over USC and Mississippi State and a road win against Big Sky Conference champ Weber State. It appeared Utah State had a formula built on strong post play with Jarred Shaw combined with adequate play on the wings.

However, Utah State faced Brigham Young and the Aggies were unable to defend multiple star players — a problem that would continue throughout the season. BYU's Tyler Haws and Matt Carlino combined for 39 points in the game. Additionally, the game also exposed another problem the Aggies would deal with over the course of the season: Turnovers.

Utah State committed 16 turnovers to BYU’s seven.

DEC. 16, 2013: JARRED SHAW SUSPENDED

Prior to Dec. 16, Shaw was leading the Aggies in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots. However, Shaw was suspended for five games after being charged with felony drug distribution. While Utah State went 4-1 without Shaw, the loss was a 73-72 setback to Air Force in the Aggies' Mountain West Conference debut. One has to believe with Shaw the Aggies would have found a way to win.

Shaw returned for the Jan. 4 game against San Jose State, which the Aggies won. However, for the next three games, Shaw’s performances were inconsistent. Utah State went 1-2 with road losses to Nevada and Boise State.

JAN. 22, 2014: UNLV 62, UTAH STATE 42

This loss was the second in a five-game losing streak for the Aggies, and it represented problems Utah State had all year against elite teams in the conference. The final box score showcased several areas for Utah State that were season-long problems: rebounding disadvantage (44-29); lack of secondary scorers (one scorer in double figures); and three-point shooting (2 of 17). Those specific problems lingered with Utah State, but they reared their heads most when facing San Diego State, New Mexico and UNLV. The Aggies were a combined 0-7 against those teams. In those games, Utah State trailed in at least one of those vital categories, while mostly leading the turnover category.

MARCH 5, 2014: UTAH STATE 65, WYOMING 54

After being beaten up by Wyoming earlier in the season, the Aggies showcased why they could compete in the conference with a win over Wyoming. With four double-digit scorers (Shaw, Spencer Butterfield, TeNale Roland, Kyle Davis), the Aggies dominated the Cowboys in a variety of areas, including holding the Wyoming bench scoreless. Utah State outrebounded Wyoming, 47-27, while holding the Cowboys to just 20.8 percent shooting from three-point range (5 of 24). Excluding the conference’s big three, Utah State went 7-5 against the rest of the conference.

MARCH 13, 2014: SAN DIEGO STATE 73, UTAH STATE 39

This game represented everything that bothered Utah State at any time during the season: health issues (Butterfield battled hip problems); scoring issues (Shaw scored 14 of Utah State’s 39 points); turnovers (14); and points in the paint (40-14). The loss left Utah State questioning whether or not it will even receive a postseason invitation of any kind, and if they will accept even if they are offered.

So, the takeaways from those points are simple: Utah State has to improve its record against Fresno State, Nevada and Wyoming; has to recruit better athletes that can physically matchup with San Diego State, UNLV and New Mexico; and has to use the offseason to more adequately adjust to the physical toll of playing in one of the nation’s best basketball conferences.

All in all, it should be a busy offseason for the Aggies.

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Jon Oglesby

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