Bracketology 2021: BYU, Utah State, and Virginia among biggest winners

Utah State Aggies

It was a rough start to the season for the Aggies, going 1-3 in the first four games that included losses to BYU, VCU, and South Dakota State. And their lone win, Northern Iowa, went down the tube once their best players got injured and are out for the season. The blessing in disguise for the team was the unique Mountain West schedule that has them playing teams back-to-back either at home or away.

For Utah State, that meant that its first six games came against San Jose State, New Mexico, and Air Force, arguably the three worst teams in the conference. They blew past all of them to get to this point, a pair of games against San Diego State at home. It was the ultimate opportunity for the Aggies to get at least a win and get back into the bubble picture.

Instead, Utah State got the very impressive sweep this past week to end up 11-3 and 8-0 in Mountain West play. Bigs Neemias Queta and Justin Bean were great inside but it was the guard play that led them to the victories.

Considering that the non-conference didn’t give the Aggies much of a resume, this result and the two Quad 1 victories put them squarely on the bubble and should be in as an at-large team right now. And with matchups against UNLV, Colorado State, Fresno State, and Wyoming up next, Utah State’s winning streak could go as high as 20 in the next few weeks. Just a great week for the mid-major at-large hopeful and the Mountain West overall when it comes to getting multiple bids.