The Utah State Aggies are a Division I men's college basketball team that plays in the Mountain West Conference, representing Utah State University. In the 17 years that former coach Stew Morrill was at the helm, Utah State had the 4th highest winning percentage in the nation at home, behind only Duke, Kansas, and Gonzaga.^[2] As of the end of the 2023–24 regular season, the Aggies have an all-time record of 1,719 wins and 1,168 losses (.595 win pct).

Quick Facts University, First season ...

Utah State Aggies
2023–24 Utah State Aggies men's basketball team
University	Utah State University
First season	1903–04
All-time record	1719–1168 (.595)
Head coach	Jerrod Calhoun (1st season)
Conference	Mountain West Conference
Location	Logan, Utah
Arena	Smith Spectrum (Capacity: 10,270)
Nickname	Aggies
Student section	The Hurd
Colors	Navy blue, white, and pewter gray[1]
Uniforms
Home Away Alternate
NCAA tournament Elite Eight
1939, 1970
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
1962, 1964, 1970
NCAA tournament round of 32
1962, 1964, 1970, 2001, 2024
NCAA tournament appearances
1939, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1970, 1971, 1975, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1988, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2024
Conference tournament champions
1988, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2019, 2020
Conference regular season champions
1926, 1930, 1935, 1936, 1980, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2019, 2024

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The first basketball team on Utah State's campus was organized in 1902 and consisted of only women. A men's team was organized in 1904, at which point the women's club fell into obscurity.

The Aggies enjoyed mixed success early in their history, notching sporadic NCAA tournament appearances and alternating winning in the then-smaller postseason bracket with not winning much at all. Perhaps the most notable event in Utah State basketball history occurred on February 8, 1965, with the tragic death of Wayne Estes. Estes was a 6'6" forward for the Aggies, and was the nation's second leading scorer in 1965, behind only Rick Barry, at 33.7 ppg. He had just amassed 2,000 career points with a 48-point showing in a home victory over the University of Denver, when he stopped at the scene of a car accident in Logan. While crossing the street, Estes accidentally clipped a downed power line with his head and was electrocuted. The Los Angeles Lakers had planned on drafting him in the 1st round of the NBA draft, where he likely would have gone on to win several championships with the team. Following Estes's death, he was posthumously awarded 1st team All-American honors.

The men's basketball team wasn't adversely affected by the constant shuffling of conference affiliations and independent status that blighted the USU football program throughout the mid-to-late 20th century. The program, however, did endure a lengthy stint as an independent program, from 1937 to 1978—although in that period, basketball independence was not the financial and competitive obstacle that it would become in the ESPN era. All the while, it remained the most resilient and popular sport at USU, enjoying steady success for decades. During the 1960s and '70s, the Aggies spent a great deal of time in both major national polls, finishing the season in the AP Top 25 three times and in the Coaches' Poll Top 25 seven times during those two decades.^[3] USU reached the NCAA Sweet 16 in 1962, and the Elite 8 in 1970. In 2024 the Aggies ranked 19th on the Coaches' Poll.

The Aggies enjoy a particularly strong home-court advantage at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, where they were 193–13 in the Morrill era.^[2]

During the 2008–09 season, USU led the nation in field goal percentage with 49.8%. In addition, they were 2nd in win/loss percentage and 5th in assist-to-turnover ratio.^[4] In 2009–10, the Aggies led the nation in 3-point percentage with an incredible 42.5%.^[5] The Aggies have spent time in the national rankings, reaching as high as #19 in the Coaches' Poll in 2003–04, and #17 in 2008–09. During the 2009–2010, the Aggies reached as high as #26, one spot out of the actual rankings, before falling back to #31 for the postseason poll.^[6] The Aggies finished the season in 2011 ranked #19 in the AP poll. In 2019, although not ranked in the preseason poll, the Aggies finished the season again ranked in the AP poll, coming in at #25. 2020, saw the Aggies ranked #17 in the preseason poll.

Utah State has also won the Old Oquirrh Bucket nine times, including both of the last two seasons. The Bucket is the award given each year to the best college basketball team in Utah, based on records against in-state opponents.

Utah State plays its home games at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, a 10,270-seat arena on the Utah State campus. The Aggies are 453–105 (.812) at the Smith Spectrum, which has housed basketball since 1970. Previous to the building of the Spectrum, Utah State's basketball teams played at the George Nelson Fieldhouse on campus. Under head coach Craig Smith, USU was 39–4 (.910) at home. Until a surprising early-season loss in 2009, USU boasted the second-longest home win streak in the nation, behind Kansas.

The Smith Spectrum features seats at court level, extremely-close to the players. The university also reserves an unusually-high percentage of seats, including at court level, for its students. This has aided the USU student section in becoming one of the most notoriously loud and raucous (and clever) in the nation, with major publicity in recent years. Various sources have called the Smith Spectrum among the hardest places in the nation for opposing teams to play.^[8][9][10] In the '90s, when his teams were reaching the Final Four and competing at the highest echelons of college basketball, University of Utah coach Rick Majerus called the Smith Spectrum the toughest place in the country for his teams to play.^[11] After a February 2010 game at the Smith Spectrum, Wichita State head coach Gregg Marshall said "Utah State has 4000 student tickets and they make some type of impression on the visiting team and it's just a party. It is one heck of a party. It's the best I've ever seen. In many, many years I've been at Duke and Kentucky and UConn and Syracuse and it's clearly the best I've ever seen in terms of atmosphere."^[12]

An unofficial newsletter entitled "The Refraction" was published before each game day until it was discontinued in 2011.^[13] One student fan, known as "Wild Bill", has also gained much renown as of late for his unique techniques to distract opposing free throw shooters.^[11][14][15] Other Utah State traditions are their "I believe that we will win!" chant and "Winning team, losing team" chant that mocks the away losing team in the last seconds of a game.

The following players have their jerseys retired, but numbers are still active.^[16]

• Utah State Aggies men's basketball statistical leaders