Thursday, March 12th, 5:30 p.m. (et).

FACTS & STATS: Site: Lawlor Events Center (11,536) -- Reno, Nevada. Television: ESPNU. Home Record: FSU 9-8, USU 17-0. Away Record: FSU 3-10, USU 10-3. Neutral Record: FSU 1-2, USU 0-1. Conference Record: FSU 3-12, USU 14-2. Series Record: Utah State leads, 25-19.

GAME NOTES: Trying to get back to the title game of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament for the third time in the last four years, the top- seeded Utah State Aggies match wits with the Fresno State Bulldogs at the Lawlor Events Center in Reno today. USU, which lost in the championship round against Nevada and New Mexico State in 2006 and 2007, respectively, ran through a huge portion of the schedule this season, but down the stretch the team began to show some flaws in the armor. More specifically, USU alternated wins and losses over the final seven games of the campaign before finishing with a 27-4 record overall and 14-2 in league action. As for the ninth-seeded Bulldogs, they already have a taste of this year's event, having played and beaten Hawaii in the first round of the tourney on Tuesday night with a 62-58 triumph. That particular win snapped a three-game slide that FSU suffered against teams from the state of Idaho to close out the regular season. For as bad as they played in conference games as a whole, the Bulldogs actually gave Utah State a couple of real battles during the regular season. First, there was a 65-62 setback on the road, followed by an 83-77 overtime bout at the Save Mart Center at the end of January. With those two victories, the Aggies moved to a 25-19 advantage in the all-time series. The winner of this meeting will advance to the semifinals to do battle with the survivor of the New Mexico State/Boise State bout.

Sylvester Seay shot just 5-of-14 from the field and 1-of-5 behind the three- point line on the night, but still finished with a team-best 16 points as he and the Bulldogs slipped by Hawaii in the opening round of the tournament in Reno on Tuesday night. Dwight O'Neil put together a strong effort with 14 points, four assists, four rebounds and a pair of steals for the group, while Mychal Ladd knocked down some crucial free throws, en route to his 13 points off the bench. FSU bounced back after making a mere six field goals in the first half by hitting on 51.9 percent following the break. Seay continues to lead the program in scoring with his 15.4 ppg, stemming from a substantial output at the free-throw line (117-of-168), at least compared to the rest of the team. As O'Neil showed two nights ago, his presence is an important part of the puzzle with him averaging 12.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg and having issued a team- best 114 assists in his 24 appearances.

Having played in the shadow of Jaycee Carroll for a few years in Logan, Gary Wilkinson finally got his just due and was named the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year for 2008-09 as he led the Aggies in scoring and rebounding with averages of 16.9 points and 7.1 rebounds per outing, all while shooting both 59.1 percent from the field and 83.6 percent at the free-throw line. Never mind the fact that he logged only 43 assists, instead focus on the fact that he was a huge part of the team's sensational records during the regular season. Jared Quayle, who also earned all-conference recognition, chimed in with 12.9 ppg, 5.7 rpg and was first on the unit in both assists (117) and steals (45) this season. Another factor in the paint for the Aggies, a team that shot 49.8 percent from the floor and outscored opponents by nearly 11 ppg, was Tai Wesley with 12.1 ppg and 5.8 rpg as he made good on 60.3 percent of his field goal tries.

The Bulldogs got their moment in the sun on Tuesday and will now have to face the fact that Utah State is simply a superior program and won't allow yet another close call with FSU.

Predicted Outcome

Utah State 79, Fresno State 61