Plain and simple. If Utah State can win its final home game of 1994-95 against Pacific tonight at 7 in the Spectrum, the Aggies will be at least co-champions of the Big West Conference regular season and the No. 1 seed for the league tournament that starts next week in Las Vegas.
What a way for the four Aggie seniors - Nate Wickizer, Corwin Woodard, Roddie Anderson and Covington Cormier - to go out. Wickizer, out much of this year with ankle and calf injuries, led USU in scoring last season at 13.4 a game. Woodard (15.4) is the Aggies' No. 2 scorer, Anderson is the main point guard but is USU's No. 3 rebounder (6.1) and Cormier leads in average assists (3.9).While USU can win everything tonight, there is also the very real chance it could crash, tie for second and be the tourney's third seed. That happens if USU (13-4 conference, 20-6 overall) USU falls to Pacific (9-8, 14-11) and Long Beach and New Mexico State each win their games tonight.
USU barely escaped 58-57 at Pacific Jan. 7 when Eric Franson's tip-in scored as the shot clock wound out with :05.5 left in the game, two Tigers collided on an inbounds pass for a turnover with :02.1 left, the Ags missed a 1-and-1 free throw at :01 and a court-length Tiger shot failed at :00.
The Ags were without a suspended Silas Mills at the time, but they also held Pacific's Adam Jacobsen to 11 points and Charles Jones to 10, and both are capable of far more. Jones leads league scoring in Big West-only games, averaging 19.4.
"Pacific has perhaps the best perimeter players in the Big West in Jacobsen, Jones and Corey Anders," says USU coach Larry Eustachy, mindful that Anders got 19 on the Ags.
"Pacific lives and dies with the three-point shot," Eustachy adds. In an 89-81 loss Thursday at Nevada, the Tigers took 30 threes, Jacobsen going 8-for-16 for 24 points.