Huskies take the fifth

Instead of Selection Sunday, the Utah State Aggies feared it might be Dejection Sunday.

Having lost the WAC tournament title game in overtime to Nevada Saturday night, they were nestled uncomfortably on the NCAA tournament bubble.

The Washington Huskies had no such concerns about getting in, only worries that their loss to Oregon in the Pac-10 tournament might mean a lower seeding and a longer trip.

But when the pairings were finally announced Sunday, the Aggies and Huskies were happily matched together, two teams that had no need to call on Billy Packer to offer a defense of their seeding.

Washington, given a No. 5 seed, and No. 12-seeded Utah State will play in the first round Thursday at Cox Arena in San Diego.

"There were a lot of tears of joy in my basement," Utah State coach Stew Morrill told reporters in Logan, Utah, where the team had gathered at his house to watch the pairings. "After (Saturday's) tough loss, this is just such a great deal.''

Utah State finished 23-8 overall but was second in both the regular season and the conference tournament and feared a repeat of 2004, when the Aggies were 25-3 and ranked No. 21 but got left out of the NCAA tournament.

"When we came up on the board, we almost tore coach Morrill's house apart,'' senior forward Nate Harris told reporters in Logan. "It was awesome.''

The Huskies had more subdued emotions when their seeding and pairing were announced, if largely because their four seniors have been through this a few times now. This is the third straight year UW has received an invitation, tying a school record set previously from 1984 to 1986.

"For me, it's just a little different because now we've been here twice already,'' said senior forward Mike Jensen. "Last year was a big-time surprise with the number one seed and the year before that it was the first time going to the tournament [since 1998]. Now it's like, 'Man, let's get to the tournament and let's do well.' ''

UW coach Lorenzo Romar, though, said he "still sensed some excitement that we were a five seed. After the loss to Oregon, you just don't know what to expect.''

To be "not only be a five seed but be able to stay on the West Coast,'' he said, was as much as the Huskies could have wanted.

Romar's enthusiasm was tempered a bit, however, after realizing the opponent.

Utah State is one of those off-the-radar teams that give coaches of big-time schools nightmares.

The Aggies are in their first year in the WAC and previously were the perennial power of the Big West. They have been among the winningest programs in the country lately, going 175-49 the last seven years. They have also qualified for the NCAA tournament six times since 1998, and rarely have been an easy out. In 2001, they beat Ohio State as a No. 12 seed, and in 2003, they almost beat Kansas as a No. 15 seed before losing 64-61.

"They expect to advance because they've done it before,'' Romar said.

The UW coach compared Utah State in style to UCLA and Stanford. The latter comparison is most apt as Utah State's coach is Stew Morrill, who followed former Stanford coach Mike Montgomery at Montana. Morrill, a 1974 graduate of Gonzaga where he was a two-time all-conference player, later coached at Colorado State before succeeding Larry Eustachy at Utah State in 1998.

"We may have wished that we were a four or a seven seed,'' Romar said. "They are really good. They don't have very many weaknesses. They play good, solid defense. They probably mix up defenses more than some teams in our league. But they are so efficient offensively. They just don't make very many fundamental mistakes.''

Almost all of the Huskies players used the word "physical'' to describe what little they know of Utah State. And they figure every team will try to knock them around after seeing what Oregon did.

Should UW get past Utah State, it would likely face Illinois — the runner-up in last year's tournament — in the second round.

What UW athletic director Todd Turner felt shouldn't be lost in the hubbub of Selection Sunday, however, is the big picture of a program that has now become a March Madness perennial after years on the outside looking in.

"To be a five seed in what was supposed to be sort of a down year validates our program,'' he said.

NOTE

• UW guard Ryan Appleby said the swelling in his face is going down and that he should have no problems playing against Utah State. Appleby was the recipient of a vicious forearm by Oregon's Aaron Brooks in Thursday's Pac-10 tournament opener, a game the Ducks won 84-73. Appleby said the six stitches he received should dissolve by game time

Appleby said that while Brooks "can apologize all he wants, I don't know how you can't be looked at as a bad guy when you throw an elbow like that at someone's face.''

Romar also spoke about the incident in harsher terms than he had immediately afterward. "I've never seen that happen in any game I've ever been involved in,'' he said.

He also said the incident is likely to follow Brooks for the rest of his career and hinted that it will heighten the Oregon-UW rivalry in future seasons.

"It certainly is a bigger issue than Nate Robinson dunking at the end of a game,'' he said, referring to an incident in 2004 that riled Oregon coach Ernie Kent and some Ducks players.

(5) Washington vs. (12) Utah St.

Huskies (24-6)

Campus: Seattle.

Coach: Lorenzo Romar.

Bid: At large.

Tournament record: 12-13.

Last NCAA appearance: 2005.

Conference: Pac-10.

Top scorers: Brandon Roy 19.9; Jamal Williams 13.4; Bobby Jones 10.5.

Top rebounders: Jon Brockman 6.8; Roy 5.7.

Top assists: Roy 4.1; Justin Dentmon 3.8.

Aggies (23-8)

Campus: Logan, Utah

Coach: Stew Morrill.

Bid: At large.

Tournament record: 6-18.

Last NCAA appearance: 2005.

Conference: Western Athletic.

Top scorers: Nate Harris 17.1; Jaycee Carroll 16.5; Cass Matheus 9.1.

Top rebounders: Harris 7.5; Matheus 6.1.

Top assists: David Pak 4.7; Harris 3.1.