Utah State a 10 seed?

The primary reason Utah State has been unlucky in its NCAA Tournament appearances since 2001 isn’t that the Aggies have been a bad team, it’s more likely that they’ve been underseeded and therefore matched up against more difficult opponents than their RPI usually indicates they deserve.

The Aggies have typically had an RPI in the 30s or 40s but received a seed in the 12-14 range — which based simply on dividing the RPI by 4 is well below the area math suggests they should land.

That little conspiracy and self-defeating theory is nice, but doesn’t help much when it comes to playing in the big dance.

For Utah State to get a better seed the Aggies probably need to win a game or two in the tournament to establish themselves as players instead of participants — annual close calls aren’t getting it done.

This year, though, the Aggies might get a break because of the lack of depth on the bubble and their solid RPI which currently stands at 32.

According to the FoxSports.com bracket predicition, USU will get a 10 seed and a matchup against an opponent such as Richmond, Clemson, Texas or Missouri — each of which is, in theory, a more winnable opponent than the usual 3, 4 or 5 seed the Aggies have been seeing.

Taking an at-large berth is not something the Aggies want to do. That would mean they enter the tournament on a loss and with a much lower seed than desired.

According to some RPI projection sites, USU should finish the regular season at No. 30 on the RPI charts. Win three more games in the WAC tourney and USU could sniff the mid-20s and, conceivably, see their seed move up as high as 7 or 8.

That’s probably a little over-optimistic for even the most hopeful Aggie fan.

But it’s not out of the realm of possibilities.