Utah State at Arizona

The selection committee had fun with this one: Arizona is the ultimate run-and-gun team, while Utah State is a grinding defense club. Utah State returns to the tournament after being snubbed last year when it had a 25-3 record and top-25 ranking. Utah State was No. 1 in the Big West allowing 58 ppg, and allowed just 39% shooting by opponents. Utah State has two big guns under the boards in senior forward 6'-9" Spencer Nelson (16 ppg, 8 rpg, 5.0 assists per game) and junior forward 6'-8" Nate Harris (13.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg). Nelson leads the Aggies in scoring, rebounds and assists. This looks like a mismatch at the outer layer, but the more you look at it, you start to become a major beleiever in Utah State. Utah State is 12-3 ATS versus good offensive teams since 1997. U of A depends on Stoudamire greatly and should he have a bad night here, Arizona could lose by ten points. Utah State ended Pacific's 22 game conference winning streak in their last game, and are riding high. This should be a close game. Two stars on the Aggies.