LOGAN – For the first time since Craig Smith arrived in Logan, the state of Utah has not experienced the euphoria of an automatic offer for March Madness and instead sweated during Selection Sunday wondering if they would see his name be eliminated in the 68 teams.
Until the final group of the first quadrant.
11th-placed Aggies is scheduled to open the tournament on Friday against sixth-placed Texas Tech at the Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana (11:45 am MDT TNT). From the ballroom of a hotel in Las Vegas just hours before his team flew to Indianapolis, Justin Bean even admits that some tears were shed – if not in the selection, then when Smith addressed the team before taking a call from Zoom with the local media.
“I shed a few tears,” said Bean. “The coach knows how to make a good speech, so he got some of us.”
Smith likes to talk about how he doesn’t “watch the bubble” or pay attention to media projections about the tournament; he read his first ESPN Joe Lunardi tweet today.
But Bean did. He is unable to obtain sufficient “bubble content” and “software”. And the former assistant admits he was worried – based on everything he read.
“When I saw Wichita State sneak in, I was a little concerned,” said Bean. “But we know it was out of our hands and, fortunately, the committee saw that we were a team of the caliber of the tournament. We deserve to be there and we know we have the tools to run.”
humor ⬇️⬇️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/dRhPOIyiE4
– Utah State Athletics (@USUAthletics) March 14, 2021
Regardless of watching the bubble, Smith didn’t get much sleep this week as he prepared for consecutive games at the Mountain West Tournament. He admits that he slept better on Saturday night than all week. A night owl by tradition, Smith fell asleep shortly after 8:30 pm Pacific time, and woke up with a completely calm feeling.
Others doubted it. He had a feeling that they would enter. When Aggie’s third-year coach, who recently signed an extension until 2026, sat down in front of reporters – most of whom covered his team all year – he clearly joked, “It’s so good to see you,” because the Utah just booked a Zoom call And if the Aggies held the NCAA Tournament.
But Smith never doubted it, he insists.
“We finished second in the regular season, we got to the championship game and I knew our metrics were really good,” said Smith. “I knew that we played a good schedule of non-conferences and I knew that we had to overcome many things.
“We want to play, and that has been our motto all year. So obviously, when it appears on the screen, and you see Wichita State as an 11. But then I thought it helped us as an 11, and to see UC Santa Barbara as an 12; showed that he did not value only the BCS schools. This was valued when we saw our 11. “
Utah State (20-8) recovered from 1-3 early in the season to finish second at the Mountain West Conference with a league record of 15-4 – the second best for 19th San Diego State.
The Aggies achieved two wins over the Aztecs in a series of two home games, from January 14 to 16, but defeats to Colorado State, UNLV and Boise State prevented them from winning the regular season title. San Diego State (23-4) will open as number 6 on Friday against Syracuse (16-9) in the Midwest regional.
After dominant wins over the Rebels and Rams in Las Vegas, Utah State’s bet for the Mountain West tournament title came to an end in Saturday’s 68-57 loss to San Diego State. The Aggies were pushed to the edge of the bubble, and with stealing victories by Oregon State at the Pac-12 Tournament, Georgetown at Big East, Georgia Tech at the ACC.
Best way to fight the scary ones on Sunday‼ ️
🕺🕺🕺#AggiesAllTheWaypic.twitter.com/U4CDsScPP1
– USU men’s hoops (@USUBasketball) March 14, 2021
But when Cincinnati failed to get another ticket to the American for a loss in Houston, Utah State narrowly survived the bubble to open its ticket to Madness for the third consecutive season.
The bubble opened wide enough to let Mountain West’s No. 2 seed in – and the Aggies hope to take advantage of it.
“We are all satisfied,” said Neemias Queta, Utah’s star center, shortly before leaving a call from Zoom to finish packing. “It is everything we work on throughout the year. When I saw our name, I had a feeling of joy and fulfillment. At the same time, I want to make sure that we go in and do what we want to do.
“We want to go there to win, not just be there. We are happy, but not satisfied.”