#BIAHRoadTrip Thank You Card

Before we officially move on from the #BIAHRoadTrip, there are a number of thank yous that we need to hand out.

But first, credit needs to be given where credit is due. This road trip wouldn't have happened if it weren't for Troy. He put together the schedule, he found the hotels, he did about 70% of the driving and he was straight up paparazzi-esque with his camera during the games.

Now for the thank yous:
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Pics/Vids: Game 13 - Utah State vs. Hawaii

Thursday, January 26th
Dee Glenn Smith Spectrum, Utah State University
Utah State 77, Hawaii 72

Game 12 - Kansas vs. Texas A&M
Game 11 - Oral Roberts vs. Oakland
Game 10 - Oklahoma State vs. Kansas State
Game 9 - Missouri State vs. Creighton
Game 8 - Missouri vs. Texas A&M
Game 7 - Wisconsin vs. Nebraska
Game 6 - Marquette vs. Pittsburgh
Game 5 - Butler vs. Cleveland State
Game 4 - Indiana vs. Minnesota
Game 3 - Xavier vs. Duquesne
Game 2 - Kentucky vs. South Carolina
Game 1 - Belmont vs. Lipscomb

(The Utah State student section experience.)

(The Dee Glenn Smith Spectrum, or just "The Spectrum" from the outside.)

(The arena is named after Smith, the owner and founder of Smith's Food and Drugs, a massive chain of pharmacy/supermarket in the northwest.)

("Wild" Bill Sproat, arguably the best super-fan in the country, greeted us inside The Spectrum. He definitely supports the cause.)

(The University presented Bill with this custom jersey after he survived a serious heart condition which but him in a coma for 15 days in 2009.)

(The scene inside The Spectrum during shootaround.)

(Pi'i Minns gets a good stretch in during shootaround.)

(The USU student section starts to fill up during shootaround. This is just one of three seating sections occupied by students.)

(Davis Rositis, far right, gets a calf stretch in, while the rest of his team waits in lay-up lines.)

(The Aggies loosen up before the game.)

(The USU student section arrived about an hour before tip-off. Of the 13 games we visited, no student section was as dedicated or as prepared as USU. Oral Roberts was a close second.)

(The Aggies go through pregame shootaround prior to tip-off.)

(Bobby Miles shows his game-face during pregame shootaround.)

(The Aggies take some shots during shootaround.)

(The students look on as the Aggies prepare for the contest.)

(Player introductions for the Hawaii Warriors.)

(The second of three USU student sections.)

(Brockeith Pane launches a 3-pointer during warm-ups as Hawaii huddles-up in the background.)

(The two teams get ready for the opening tip.)

(No school does a better "I believe that we will win" chant that Utah State.)

("Wild" Bill grills one of the referees. Poor officiating was a common occurrence during the game on Thursday night.)

(The Warriors huddle up during the first media timeout. the teams traded buckets back and forth for the first few minutes.)

(Aggies head coach Stew Morrill looks on during the first half.)

(The students wave flags to distract shooters. I felt like I was watching an Italian futbol match, not an American college basketball game.)

(Utah State guard Preston Medlin was rockin' a fresh pair of Jordan kicks. He was the only person on the floor rockin' Jordans.)

(Hawaii center Davis Rositis waits at the scorers table to check in to the game.)

(Oh crap, Bill spotted me.)

(Bill points out the Hawaii player that committed a foul.)

("Big Blue" helps the students get fired up.)

(That's the signal for Preston Medlin. Bill said he and Preston came up with it during the lsat offseason. Now all the students throw it up when he scores.)

(Utah State fans sing their school fight song, "The Scotsman".)

(Assistants have to restrain Gib Arnold from the referees after a bad call. The game was plagued with bad calls and poor officiating.)

(Brockieth Pane lines up to take a foul shot.)

("Big Blue" and Bill lead the student section during a foul shot.)

(I think this one is self-explanatory.)

(You know The Spectrum is getting rowdy when Bill stands up on the railing.)

(Hawaii's final possession before halftime.)

(Joston Thomas, a DC-native, waits for the in-bounds pass.)

(Bill reminds one of the Hawaii players "Not in my house".)

("Big Blue" rappells from the rafters during the halftime routine.)

(The cheerleaders, along with "Big Blue" finish off their routine.)

(Utah State misses a shot, Hawaii gets the rebound but turns over the ball, which leads to a fast break dunk by Preston Medlin.)

(The USU bench is fired up at the start of a media timeout.)

(Is that Dom from "Entourage"? Nah, it's just USU assistant coach Chris Jones. But the resemblance is uncanny.)

(The best "Winning Team, Losing Team" chant in all of college basketball".)

(Late in the game, Hawaii went to an offense/defense lineup. The defensive unit waits to check in to the game.)

(Self explanitory.)

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Kyisean Reed is the latest in a line of second chance stories at Utah State

You can find the rest of the features from the #BIAHRoadTrip here

LOGAN, UT - Stew Morrill has built Utah State into a power in the WAC. They've won seven regular season titles since 2000 and made eight NCAA Tournaments in that time. To get an idea of the level that this program has reached, think about this: they packed the 10,270 seat Dee Glen Smith Spectrum at more than 80% capacity -- over 90% capacity in the 4,000 seat student section -- in a down year and it was still considered a mediocre crowd.

Granted, he did take over a team coming off of an NCAA Tournament appearance in 1998, but before Larry Eustachy built that team into a winner, the Aggies hadn't been to an NCAA Tournament in a decade. Recruiting players to spend the winter in Logan, UT, a small town in the northeast corner of Utah that sits squarely in one of the most religious areas of our country, is not an easy sell.

Which is why Morrill has to take some risks.

And those risks don't always pan out.
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Pics/Vids: Game 12: Kansas vs. Texas A&M

Monday, January 23rd
Allen Field House, Kansas University
Kansas 64, Texas A&M 54


Game 11 - Oral Roberts vs. Oakland
Game 10 - Oklahoma State vs. Kansas State
Game 9 - Missouri State vs. Creighton
Game 8 - Missouri vs. Texas A&M
Game 7 - Wisconsin vs. Nebraska
Game 6 - Marquette vs. Pittsburgh
Game 5 - Butler vs. Cleveland State
Game 4 - Indiana vs. Minnesota
Game 3 - Xavier vs. Duquesne
Game 2 - Kentucky vs. South Carolina
Game 1 - Belmont vs. Lipscomb

(One of the photos in the Kansas basketball Walk of Fame.)

(The Walk of Fame inside Allen Fieldhouse.)

(The scene inside "The Phog" during warm-ups.)

(Our view from press row. Not too shabby.)

(Little Jay supports the #BIAHroadtrip. Big Jay was unavailable for comment.)

(The players entrance at Allen Fieldhouse.)

(The front row of the Kansas student section, Nice 'fro dude.)

(The Jayhawks take some shots prior to player introductions.)

(The scene during the pregame introductions. I can see that dude's afro from across the arena.)

(Just a few of the many banners hanging in the rafters at Allen Fieldhouse.)

(The Kansas bench gets ready for player introductions.)

(The Kansas Jayhawks player introductions.)

(The Aggies bench cheer on their teammates during introductions.)

(The Aggies huddle up one last time before tip-off. The man in the jeans and grey sweater in Kris Middleton. He is the team's best player but had to sit out due to injury.)

(Tyshawn Taylor guards Dash Harris during the first half.)

(Ray Turner guards Thomas Robinson on the perimeter during the first half.)

(Texas A&M point guard Dash Harris injured his foot during the game but played through it. He ended up playing 38 of a possible 40 minutes.)

(Players wait at the scorers table before checking in to the game.)

(The Jayhawks lock down on perimeter defense.)

(Jeff Withey sets up on the low block.)

(The Kansas dance team watches the game from the opposite sidelines.)

(The Kansas student section tries to force Elston Turner to put his foul shot wide left. Unfortunately, the students misspelled "Cundiff". #DistractionFail)

(Jeff Withey collects one of his eight blocks. Tweet of the Game: "Jeff Withey doesn't wear a shooting sleeve. he wears a blocking sleeve.")

(Big Jay watches on as the KU cheerleading squad performs their halftime routine.)

(ESPN's Bob Knight and Brent Musburger get some research done at halftime.)

(The two teams go through lay-up lines at halftime.)

(One of "The Morri" was in the house and posed for the camera.)

(Tyshawn Taylor launches a 3-pointer. The Jayhawks hit only 20% of their shots form behind the arch, going 4-20 on the night.)

(The picture might not show it, but Thomas Robinson is one of the most chiseled players in the country.)

(Luckily the pom-poms didn't get in my way during a Tyshawn Taylor foul shot.)

(There is no way these guys are old enough to be in college.)

(Thomas Robinson guards Ray Turner in the post as Tyshawn Taylor guards Dash Harris on the perimeter.)

(The fans at Allen Fieldhouse watch on as Tyshawn Taylor waits to receive the in-bounds pass.)

(Elijah Johnson takes a breather during the second half.)

(Elston Turner gets ready to shoot a foul shot. He finishd 6-8 from the line and lead the team with 24 points.)

(A few of the signs in the Kansas student section. Not sure if Self will receive the Republican nomination yet.)

(The Jayhawk band plays a final song as the crowd disperses from the arena following the KU win.)

(Aggies coach Billy Kennedy, along with Elston Turner and Dash Harris answer questions during the postgame press conference.)

(The scene in the tunnel following the postgame press conference at Allen Fieldhouse.)

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