The Aggies enter into the Mountain West Conference tournament as the sixth seed in the conference. Their first matchup will be against 11th-seeded Air Force this Monday at 7 pm at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Each of the Aggies' two games this year against the Falcons have come down to the wire. The Aggies split the two games, winning 65-62 in Logan but falling to the Falcons 64-61 in Colorado Springs.
Senior Antoina Robinson led the Aggies in scoring on both occasions, scoring 13 as the Aggies won on December 31 and totaling 17 during the Aggies' defeat on February 25.
The Falcons are only 4-24 on the season, and only 2-16 in the conference.
On top of Utah State, they have had wins this season against Farleigh Dickinson, Utah Valley University, and San Diego State.
The turnover battle could be a key figure in this game. The Aggies dominated the boards during the Aggies' loss to Air Force, but also turned the ball over 22 games during the game.
The Aggies' victory over the Falcons in December saw Utah State win the turnover battle en route to winning the game.
Utah State has had offensive success against the Falcons, however, as the Aggies have outshot their season field goal percentage in both meetings this season.
The Aggies also field the tenth-leading scorer in the Mountain West in Rachel Brewster at 13.7 points per game.
Brewster has scored in double figures for six straight games heading into the tournament.
For the Aggies to win, they'll also have to corral the four scorers for the Falcons that all average over eight points per game.
Freshman Mariah Forde leads Air Force with 10.9 points per game. Her efforts are reinforced by freshman Kailin Davis (9.7 ppg) and two juniors, Cortney Porter (8.6 ppg) and Dee Bennett (8.3 ppg).
Fortunately, the Aggies roll into the conference tournament with a strong defense that's helped them to eclipse their preseason expectations.
The Aggies rank fourth in the conference with only 59.9 points allowed per game.
The Aggie defense is also second in the league in blocked shots.
At 5.0 blocks per game, the Aggies are only two blocks back of Fresno State for the conference lead.
Since the program's reinstatement, the Aggies have gone 6-13 in conference tournament play, including 2-3 in the Mountain West Conference. This will be the Aggies' fourth Mountain West tournament.
The Aggies' first parlay into MW tournament play saw them as an eighth-seed defeating ninth-seeded New Mexico, 69-66. The Aggies then fell to top-seeded Colorado State, 72-67.
Two years ago, the Aggies faltered in the first round. The ninth-seeded Aggies succumbed to the No. 8 San Jose State, 99-85.
Last year, Utah State made it to the quarterfinals after beating Nevada 59-35. The Aggies lost in the next round to Fresno State, 55-47.
If the Aggies advance, their next opponent would be third-seeded UNLV. The Aggies split the season series with UNLV, including a 58-49 win on Senior Night in the last game of the regular season.