USU set to face Saint Mary’s in November tournament

Utah State’s men’s basketball team announced Thursday that the team will compete in the MGM Resorts Main Event tournament in November.

The tournament, now in its fifth year, will take place from Nov. 19-21 in Las Vegas and will presumably feature eight teams as it has in the past. Four of these teams have been announced: The Aggies, Saint Mary’s, Arizona State and Mississippi State.

USU will play Saint Mary’s in Las Vegas in the first round on Nov. 19 and, depending on the result, will play in either the championship or consolation game on Nov. 21 with the opponent dependent on the result of the Arizona State/Mississippi State matchup.

The Aggies will have two home games preceding the tournament according to a press release from the team’s athletic department. The opponents of those games have not been announced.

This is the third year in a row a team from Utah has competed in the tournament. Last year the University of Utah lost in the championship round to UNLV. In 2016, BYU also lost in the championship round, getting topped by Valparaiso.

In the release, head coach Craig Smith said he is getting “more and more excited” in anticipation of the upcoming season and the level of talent the Aggies will get to face.

“We want to play the best competition we can at Utah State and this tournament will deliver on that,” Smith said. “Saint Mary’s, Arizona State and Mississippi State are all incredible programs and teams that had great success last season. I can’t wait to get the ball tipped in Las Vegas.”

Earlier in June, Smith sent out a tweet with a link to a “Way-too-early Top 25” for college basketball, teasing the idea that the team could end up having as many as three top-25 caliber teams on the schedule.

Polls are polls, but I see three future @USUBasketball opponents for 2018-2019 in this pre-season top 25 poll. Still finishing up the schedule for next year! https://t.co/5iwCr26E4f

— Craig Smith (@CoachSmith_USU) June 5, 2018

With the release of these games, those three teams could be Nevada, Arizona State and Mississippi State. The Aggies will play the Wolfpack twice this season, first to open their conference schedule and then a March 2 contest. However, at this point there is no guarantee that Utah State will get a chance to play the Sun Devils of the Bulldogs, leaving room for speculation on the rest of the Aggies’ non-conference schedule, which has yet to be announced.

Nevada, Arizona State, Saint Mary’s and Mississippi State each finished the 2017-18 season with at least 20 wins though none won their respective conference tournament and only Nevada was able to snag an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament.

The Bulldogs made it to the NIT, losing in the semifinal to the eventual champion Penn State. The Gaels also appeared in the NIT, losing to the eventual runner-up Utah in the quarterfinals.