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The Utah State Aggies crushed the Wyoming Cowboys last night on senior night to put a happy exclamation point on a sad season. After trailing by three at the half, and by as much as eight near the start of the second period, the Aggies put the foot on the gas pedal and never looked back. The Aggies led 58-50 heading into the final minutes of the game, and went 7-8 on free throws to close the deal, winning by a score of 65-54. Jarred Shaw and Spencer Butterfield led the Aggies with 14 and 12 points, respectively.
The Aggies' first season in the MWC was a disappointing one as USU finished the regular season near the bottom of the conference. At best, the win over the Cowboys allows the Aggies the possibility to overtake CSU to claim the 8th spot in the conference tournament next week; that will only occur if the Rams lose to Wyoming this weekend in Laramie. USU beat CSU both times the two teams met this year, giving the Aggies the tiebreaker. If CSU wins on Saturday, the Aggies would be guaranteed to maintain the 9th seed.
The game between Colorado State and Wyoming is basically a play-in game to determine which of the two will play USU in the conference tourney. If CSU loses and the Aggies claim the 8th seed, the Rams will take the 9th seed, and the two will play in the first round. If the Rams win on the road and the Aggies take the 9th seed, the Cowboys will drop to the 8th seed, and play USU in the Rams' place.
Regardless of whether they get the 8th or 9th seed and regardless of who gets the other, the Aggies find themselves in the worst possible position heading into the tournament; no matter who they play in the first round, they'll have to play the #1 seed in the second round. Whether that is SDSU or UNM will be decided on Saturday as those two teams play for the second time this season with the conference regular season title on the line.