Utah State went 8-3 during the non-conference portion of its schedule, including losses to Duke (85-52), BYU (80-66) and UC Irvine (73-64).
During the Mountain West conference season, the Aggies endured a five-game losing streak and went 1-6 in games decided by seven points or less. They finished 16-15 overall and 7-11 in league play. Their final three regular-season losses included two in the last-minute to Fresno State and one at Nevada.
"We played a lot of close games this year and weren't able to close them out," sophomore guard Julion Pearre said. "But I think we're going in the right direction.