For those sports fans in desperate need of a Delta Center basketball fix, you're only chance may be here.
It might not be the Jazz and the Bulls squaring off. But without an unexpected return to sanity by the NBA owners and players, Weber State and Utah State might be the best teams to play in the Delta Center -- they tip-off tonight at 7:05 -- for who knows how many months."Hey, we might be the only game in that building," said Wildcat forward Harold Arceneaux. "It's going to be pretty fun to play there."
Every year, around Christmas time, Utah State makes an attempt to bring its basketball team to the nearly 100,000 alumni along the Wasatch front.
The Old Oquirrh Bucket -- the symbol of Utah college hoops supremacy -- very likely rides on the outcome of this game. Weber State owns wins over BYU and Southern Utah, while Utah State beat Utah, which beat Weber State. A Wildcat win locks up the trophy for WSU, thanks to a 3-1 record. A win by the Aggies will leave USU with only a game against BYU left to sew up a perfect in-state season.
The Aggie-Wildcat rivalry picked up extra steam in the past few years after the two schools couldn't agree on terms for a schedule of games. A year without playing saw both schools accusing the other of being afraid to play each other.
USU is led by center Donnie Johnson and forward Troy Rolle, who both average 15-plus points a game while combining for 14 rebounds a contest. Arceneaux leads Weber with per-game averages of 20.3 points and five rebounds.