The Utah State Aggies men’s basketball team is an

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

team competing in the

Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States, participating in NCAA Division I. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The MW officially began operations on Ja ...

, that represents

Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public university, public land grant colleges, land-grant research university with its main campus in Logan, Utah, United States. Founded in 1888 under the Morrill Land-Grant Acts as Utah's federal ...

. Home games are played at the

Smith Spectrum The Dee Glen Smith Spectrum is a 10,270-seat multi-purpose arena in the western United States, located on the campus of Utah State University in Logan, Utah. Best known as the home of the Utah State Aggies Utah State Aggies men's basketball, men ...

, located on the

campus in

Logan Logan may refer to: Places * Mount Logan (disambiguation) Australia * Logan (Queensland electoral district), an electoral district in the Queensland Legislative Assembly * Logan, Victoria, small locality near St. Arnaud * Logan City, local gove ...

. In the 17 years that former coach

Stew Morrill Stewart Morrill (born July 25, 1952) is an American college basketball coach and the former head coach of the Utah State University men's basketball team. Biography Morrill was an All-American at Ricks College and a two-time All-Big Sky sele ...

was at the helm, Utah State had the 4th highest winning percentage in the nation at home, behind only

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, and

Gonzaga Gonzaga may refer to: Places *Gonzaga, Lombardy, commune in the province of Mantua, Italy *Gonzaga, Cagayan, municipality in the Philippines *Gonzaga, Minas Gerais, town in Brazil *Forte Gonzaga, fort in Messina, Sicily Surname *House of Gonza ...

. As of the end of the 2023–24 regular season, the Aggies have an all-time record of 1,714 wins and 1,156 losses.

History

The first basketball team on Utah State's campus was organized in 1902 and consisted of only women. A men's team was organized in 1904, at which point the women's club fell into obscurity. The Aggies enjoyed mixed success early in their history, notching sporadic NCAA tournament appearances and alternating winning in the then-smaller postseason bracket with not winning much at all. Perhaps the most notable event in Utah State basketball history occurred on February 8, 1965, with the tragic death of

Wayne Estes Wayne Vernon Estes (May 13, 1943 – February 8, 1965) was an American basketball player. He was a All-American Forward (basketball), forward for the Utah State Aggies men's basketball, Utah State Aggies from 1962 to 1965. Wayne is the fourth ...

. Estes was a 6'6" forward for the Aggies, and was the nation's second leading scorer in 1965, behind only

Rick Barry Richard Francis Dennis Barry III (born March 28, 1944) is an American former professional basketball player who starred at the NCAA, American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) levels. Barry ranks among the m ...

, at 33.7 ppg. He had just amassed 2,000 career points with a 48-point showing in a home victory over the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1864, it has an enrollment of approximately 5,700 undergraduate students and 7,200 graduate students. It is classified among "R1: D ...

, when he stopped at the scene of a car accident in Logan. While crossing the street, Estes accidentally clipped a downed power line with his head and was electrocuted. The

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

had planned on drafting him in the 1st round of the NBA draft, where he likely would have gone on to win several championships with the team. Following Estes's death, he was posthumously awarded 1st team All-American honors. The men's basketball team wasn't adversely affected by the constant shuffling of conference affiliations and independent status that blighted the USU football program throughout the mid-to-late 20th century. The program, however, did endure a lengthy stint as an independent program, from 1937 to 1978—although in that period, basketball independence was not the financial and competitive obstacle that it would become in the

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

era. All the while, it remained the most resilient and popular sport at USU, enjoying steady success for decades. During the 1960s and '70s, the Aggies spent a great deal of time in both major national polls, finishing the season in the AP Top 25 three times and in the Coaches' Poll Top 25 seven times during those two decades. USU reached the NCAA Sweet 16 in 1962, and the Elite 8 in 1970. In 2024 the Aggies ranked 19th on the Coaches' Poll. The Aggies enjoy a particularly strong home-court advantage at the

Dee Glen Smith Spectrum The Dee Glen Smith Spectrum is a 10,270-seat multi-purpose arena in the western United States, located on the campus of Utah State University in Logan, Utah. Best known as the home of the Utah State Aggies men's and the women's basketball team ...

, where they were 193–13 in the Morrill era. During the 2008–09 season, USU led the nation in field goal percentage with 49.8%. In addition, they were 2nd in win/loss percentage and 5th in assist-to-turnover ratio. In 2009–10, the Aggies led the nation in 3-point percentage with an incredible 42.5%. The Aggies have spent time in the national rankings, reaching as high as #19 in the

Coaches' Poll In the United States, the Coaches Poll is a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I (NCAA), Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football, Division I (NCAA), Division I college basketball, and Division I college baseball teams. ...

in 2003–04, and #17 in 2008–09. During the 2009–2010, the Aggies reached as high as #26, one spot out of the actual rankings, before falling back to #31 for the postseason poll. The Aggies finished the season in 2011 ranked #19 in the AP poll. In 2019, although not ranked in the preseason poll, the Aggies finished the season again ranked in the AP poll, coming in at #25. 2020, saw the Aggies ranked #17 in the preseason poll. Utah State has also won the

Old Oquirrh Bucket The Old Oquirrh Bucket (named after the Oquirrh Mountains to the west of Salt Lake City, as well as the famous Old Oaken Bucket) is the symbol of in-state basketball supremacy in Utah, United States. Every year from 1974 to 2010, the trophy was aw ...

nine times, including both of the last two seasons. The Bucket is the award given each year to the best college basketball team in Utah, based on records against in-state opponents.

Post season history

NCAA tournament

Utah State is 7–26 (.212) in its NCAA tournament history. In recent years, the team has won invitations to the tournament in 1998 (under coach

Larry Eustachy Larry Robert Eustachy (born December 1, 1955 in Alameda, California) is an American college basketball coach, most recently the head coach of the Colorado State Rams He was previously the head coach at Idaho and Eustachy was the AP Co ...

), 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2010 (all under Morrill). From 1978 to 2005, Utah State was a member of the Big West Conference. In both 2006 and 2010, the Aggies received at-large bids to the tournament after losing in the WAC tournament championship game. Despite a stellar season in 2003–04 and a national top-25 ranking toward the end of the season, the Aggies did not receive an at-large tournament bid after being upset in the conference tournament, making them the last top-25 team in college basketball to be snubbed from the tournament. This decision earned the derision of coach Morrill, as the Aggies held a 25–3 record along with their ranking. In 2009, USU won the WAC tournament championship game, defeating Nevada in Reno. The team went on to lose in the first round of the NCAA tournament to Marquette, 58–57. The most notable NCAA tournament success was a first-round upset over fifth-seeded

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

. The 2010 team received an at-large bid from the selection committee after losing in the WAC tournament final to

New Mexico State New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a Public university system, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution ...

. The 12th-seeded Aggies then lost their opening round game to

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

. The Aggies would have appeared in the 2020 NCAA tournament after being champions of the 2020 Mountain West tournament, however, the NCAA tournament was cancelled amid the 2020 coronavirus outbreak. In 2024, Utah State won their first NCAA Tournament game in 23 years, when they beat the

TCU Horned Frogs The TCU Horned Frogs are the athletic teams that represent Texas Christian University. The 18 varsity teams participate in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA Division I and in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for football, competi ...

, 88-72, in the First Round.

NIT

The Aggies have appeared in 10

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...

s, with a combined record of 2–10.

CIT

The Aggies appeared in one CollegeInsider.com Tournament. Their record was 4–1.

Home-court advantage

Aggies cheering on their basketball team at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum

Utah State plays its home games at the

, a 10,270-seat arena on the Utah State campus. The Aggies are 453–105 (.812) at the Smith Spectrum, which has housed basketball since 1970. Previous to the building of the Spectrum, Utah State's basketball teams played at the

George Nelson Fieldhouse The George Nelson Fieldhouse is a multi-purpose arena on the campus of Utah State University in Logan, Utah Logan is a city in Cache County, Utah, United States. The 2020 United States Census, 2020 census recorded the population at 52,778. L ...

on campus. Under head coach Craig Smith, USU was 39–4 (.910) at home. Until a surprising early-season loss in 2009, USU boasted the second-longest home win streak in the nation (37 wins), behind

. The Smith Spectrum features seats at court level, extremely-close to the players. The university also reserves an unusually-high percentage of seats, including at court level, for its students. This has aided the USU

student section A student section or student cheering section is a group of students, student fans that supports its school's student athlete, athletic teams at spectator sport, sporting events; they are known for being one of the most visible and vocal sections o ...

in becoming one of the most notoriously loud and raucous (and clever) in the nation, with major publicity in recent years. Various sources have called the Smith Spectrum among the hardest places in the nation for opposing teams to play. In the '90s, when his teams were reaching the Final Four and competing at the highest echelons of college basketball,

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

coach

Rick Majerus Richard Raymond Majerus (February 17, 1948 – December 1, 2012) was an American basketball coach and TV analyst. He coached at Marquette University (1983–1986), Ball State University (1987–1989), the University of Utah (1989–2004), and S ...

called the Smith Spectrum the toughest place in the country for his teams to play. After a February 2010 game at the Smith Spectrum,

Wichita State Wichita State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 ...

head coach

Gregg Marshall Michael Gregg Marshall (born February 27, 1963) is an American college basketball coach whose most recent position was head coach at Wichita State University. Marshall has coached his teams to appearances in the NCAA Division I men's basketball ...

said "Utah State has 4,000 student tickets and they make some type of impression on the visiting team and it's just a party. It is one heck of a party. It's the best I've ever seen. In many, many years I've been at

and

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

and

UConn The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

and

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

and it's clearly the best I've ever seen in terms of atmosphere." An unofficial newsletter entitled "The Refraction" was published before each game day until it was discontinued in 2011. One student fan, known as "Wild Bill", has also gained much renown as of late for his unique techniques to distract opposing free throw shooters. Other Utah State traditions are their " I believe that we will win!" chant and "Winning team, losing team" chant that mocks the away losing team in the last seconds of a game.

Retired jerseys

The following players have their jerseys retired, but numbers are still active.

Awards

Consensus Second Team All-Americans *

- 1965 Third Team All-Americans * Cornell Green - 1962 *

- 1964 AP Honorable Mention All-Americans * Shaler Halimon - 1968 * Marv Roberts - 1969, 1971 * Greg Grant - 1983, 1985, 1986 *

Jaycee Carroll Jaycee Don Carroll (born April 16, 1983) is an American-born naturalized Azerbaijani former professional basketball player. He has also represented the senior Azerbaijani national team. While playing college basketball for the Utah State Univers ...

- 2007, 2008 * Gary Wilkinson - 2009 *

Tai Wesley Tai William Evans Wesley (born May 13, 1986) is an American professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Utah State Aggies, where he was named the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year in 2011. After beginning h ...

- 2011 * Sam Merrill - 2019 *

Neemias Queta Neemias Esdras Barbosa Queta (; born 13 July 1999) is a Portuguese professional basketball player of Bissau-Guinean descent for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He started playing basketball in 2009 for Barreiren ...

- 2021 *

Great Osobor Great Osobor (born 13 December 2002) is a Spanish-English college basketball player for the Washington Huskies of the Big Ten Conference. He previously played for the Montana State Bobcats and Utah State Aggies. Early life Osobor attended ...

- 2024 Perry Wallace Most Courageous Award (

USBWA The United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) was founded in 1956 with the urging of National Collegiate Athletic Association director Walter Byers to serve the interests of journalists who cover college basketball. Scholarships The U ...

) * Connor Odom – 2023 Conference Player of the Year * Dean Hunger - 1980 * Greg Grant - 1986 *Eric Franson - 1995 *

- 2008 * Gary Wilkinson - 2009 *

- 2011 * Sam Merrill - 2019 *

- 2024 First Team All-Conference *Dean Hunger - 1979, 1980 * Brian Jackson - 1981 * Greg Grant - 1985, 1986 *Kevin Nixon - 1988 *Reid Newey - 1989 *Kendall Youngblood - 1992 *Eric Franson - 1995, 1996 *Marcus Saxon - 1997, 1998 *Troy Rolle - 2000 * Shawn Daniels - 2000, 2001 *Bernard Rock - 2001 *Tony Brown - 2002 * Desmond Penigar - 2002, 2003 *

Cardell Butler Cardell Anthony Butler (born April 28, 1981, in San Francisco, California), also known as "Ballaholic," is an American streetball player. He is known for his appearances on the AND1 Mixtape Tour shows, which aired on ESPN. In conventional baske ...

- 2004 *Mark Brown - 2004 * Spencer Nelson - 2005 *Nate Harris - 2004, 2005, 2006 *

- 2007, 2008 * Gary Wilkinson - 2009 *Jared Quayle - 2010 *

- 2010, 2011 *Brockeith Pane - 2011 *Preston Medlin - 2012 * Sam Merrill - 2019, 2020 *

History

Post season history

NCAA tournament

NIT

CIT

Home-court advantage

Retired jerseys

Awards

Season-by-season results

Aggies in the NBA/ABA

Footnotes

See also

References

External links