After arriving home early Sunday morning and getting some rest, the Aggie men’s basketball team gathered at head coach Ryan Odom’s home in the afternoon to find out their postseason fate.
It didn’t take long. Within the first five minutes of the Selection Show on CBS, there it was: Utah State.
The Aggies are headed to the NCAA Tournament for the 24th time in school history and the fourth time as an at-large participant. USU is a 10th seed in the South Region, but will get to play in Sacramento, California, for the first two rounds. They would have to win to make the second round.
“We are super excited,” Aggie guard and co-captain Steven Ashworth said Sunday after the Selection Show. “We were anticipating getting our names called, but were anxious to where we would go, what seed we would be. I think we are really pleased and happy with where we are at. … It’s going to be a lot of fun to go out to Sacramento and compete.
“... It was nice to get called early. We were able to watch the rest of the bracket stress free. We were all cheering for the other Mountain West teams.”
The Aggies will take on seventh-seeded Missouri of the Southeastern Conference. USU (26-8) and No. 25 Missouri (24-9) will meet on Thursday at the Golden 1 Center, home to the Sacramento Kings of the NBA. Tipoff will be at 11:40 a.m. (MT) and will be televised on TNT.
“I am really excited and proud of our guys, everybody in the program for working so hard,” USU head coach Ryan Odom said. “... Now the real work begins. We have to get in here (offices) and learn our opponent, Missouri is obviously a great program. We realize it’s going to be a tough match up. Every game is hard once you get to the NCAA Tournament. … To see the smiles on our guys’ faces today and the excitement was really cool.”
The Tigers finished tied with No. 17 Tennessee for fourth in the SEC and reached the semifinals of the conference tournament. Missouri lost to No. 4 Alabama, 72-61, in the semifinals on Saturday. Alabama went on to win the tournament and secure the top seed in the NCAA Tournament.
“Missouri is a really solid team,” Ashworth said. “They have some great offensive players and play in the SEC, a high caliber conference. … I’ve watched a few of their games, but will have to get to work and study them.”
After finishing in a tie for second in the Mountain West Conference during the regular season and going into the conference tournament as the third seed, the Aggies reached the MW Championship. USU lost to No. 20 San Diego State, 62-57, Saturday afternoon in Las Vegas. The loss ended a seven-game winning streak.
Having played three games in less than 40 hours, Ashworth said he was looking forward to getting some sleep after the championship game. He got some, but was going to get more after addressing the media Sunday.
“I’m glad we can get some rest and then head west to Sacramento,” Ashworth said. “It’s a short flight. It’s always nice traveling west and not east.”
USU joined three other Mountain West teams in reaching the Big Dance. San Diego State is a five seed in the South Region and will play 12th-seeded Charleston in Orlando, Florida. Nevada is an 11th seed in the West Region and will play fellow 11 seed Arizona State in Dayton, Ohio, in the First Four. Boise State is a 10th seed in the West Region and will play seventh-seeded Northwestern in Sacramento. So the Aggies and Broncos will be at the same venue.
“I have a lot of respect for that program and what they have been able to do the past few years,” Ashworth said of Boise State. “It felt great to come out on top in the Mountain West Tournament (semifinals), but at the same time a lot of mutual respect. Now I’m a big Mountain West fan. It’s important the Mountain West shows well and showcases how good of a conference we’ve been this year. … Hopefully both crowds will be cheering for each other a little bit for once.”
“For our conference to get four teams in the NCAA Tournament, I know we all felt we should get four,” Odom said. “... I’m happy for everybody.”
The Mountain West also had four teams make the NCAA Tournament last year. However, they all lost in the first round, which drew some criticism from national media when some teams from bigger conferences were left out.
This will be the fourth trip to the NCAA Tournament in the last five years for the Aggies. They last danced in 2021, losing to Texas Tech, 65-53.
In fact, USU has lost nine straight NCAA Tournament games. The last win came in 2001, when the Aggies upset fifth-seeded Ohio State, 77-68, in overtime.
“Sam (Merrill) let me know that last night through a text,” Odom said of the Aggies not winning in more than two decades. “He said no pressure. … Any time you win in the NCAA Tournament is special. It’s certainly something these guys aspire to do, but it’s hard because you are playing a stellar opponent.”
“We have the goal to go out and get the first win in 30 or 50 years or however many years it’s been,” Ashworth said with a smile. “Ok, 20. I was thinking the last time we were in the Sweet Sixteen. … It’s been a few years since we’ve had a win in the NCAA Tournament. I’m super excited about the opportunity.”
It’s the chance for this Aggie team to go after another goal.
“Our goal was to win the Mountain West regular season and we came up a few games short,” Ashworth said. “Then we turned our focus to winning the Mountain West Tournament. I think we did a really good job of focusing on goals, what is next. … Obviously playing in March Madness in the NCAA Tournament is the dream of every college basketball player. ... Now we want to do well.”
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