Non-conference play is, for the most part, done with. Based on the collective results of said non-conference play, WAC teams finally have something to play for. With the No. 16 ranked conference RPI and a grand total of five wins against top-100 RPI teams throughout the conference, nobody is getting an at-large bid this season. So what's left is a regular season championship trophy and seeding for the WAC Tournament in March.
So we begin here, with Utah State rolling as of late and looking a fifth consecutive championship is now a real possibility. Of the five top-100 RPI wins, Utah State lays claim to two of them (BYU, Kent State). Really since Danny Berger came into the picture, this team has been a force, going 5-2 in the last seven games, with the only losses coming to Wichita State (No. 31 in RPI) and AP No. 15 ranked Mississippi State. They've turned things on to become at the very least the team people thought they could be, but in my opinion, they've been playing even better than most people probably expected they ever would. It's a change that you can't help but be excited about as an Aggie fan.
Fresno State brings in a team mostly made up of low-talent carryovers from the era of a very low-talent coach... mostly. Unfortunately for the rest of the WAC, the Steve Cleveland era is over in the San Joaquin Valley. As a result, Fresno State just might field a competitive and focused basketball team at some point in the near future. And while they are still a ways from being contenders, they at least have hope, and right now as much to play for as every other WAC team.
The biggest worry is sophomore guard Kevin Olekaibe, who leads both the team and the WAC in scoring with 18.7 points per game. He doesn't shoot too well overall from the field, but does hit a respectable 35.2 percent from 3. He's also very good from the free throw line and pretty good at getting there.
As a team, they've heavily guard-oriented, without much inside presence at all. But probably their biggest strength is that they seldom turn the ball over, with just 11.5 giveaways per game. That's good enough for best in the WAC and among the top 25 in the country. On the flip-side, they don't rebound the ball well at all, and if USU's offense is clicking, especially from deep, Fresno is going to be under heavy pressure to make every possession count. And if they go cold for a bit and allow USU to go on a run, game over.
Regardless, it's going to be good to see how the Aggies stack up against WAC competition. If the game is close, one would think that the WAC race will be uphill for the Aggies. If USU can manage to blow out a middle-tier WAC team, then you've got to like their chances against the other top-tier teams.
Either way, the drive for five starts now!!!
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