LOGAN – For the first time since Craig Smith arrived in Logan, Utah State did not experience the elation of an automatic bid for March Madness and instead sweated through Selection Sunday wondering if they would see their name through the bracket of 68 teams. .
Until the last group of the first quadrant.
The 11th-seeded Aggies open Friday against sixth-seeded Texas Tech at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana (11:45 am MDT TNT). From the ballroom of a Las Vegas hotel just hours before his team flew to Indianapolis, Justin Bean even admits that some tears have been shed – if not at the squad, when Smith addressed the team before meeting a Zoom- call started with local media.
“I shed a few tears,” said Bean. “Coach knows how to give a good speech, so he has some of us.”
Smith likes to talk about how he doesn’t “bubble watch” or pay attention to media projections about the tournament; he read his first tweet today from Joe Lunardi of ESPN.
But Bean does. He cannot get enough “bubble contents” and “braces”. And the former walk-on admits he was concerned – based on everything he’s read.
“When I saw Wichita State creeping in, I started to worry a little bit,” Bean said. “But we know it wasn’t in our hands, and luckily the committee saw that we were a tournament-caliber team. We deserve to be there, and we know we have the tools to make a run.”
mood ⬇️⬇️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/dRhPOIyiE4
– Utah State Athletics (@USUAthletics) March 14, 2021
Regardless of whether he’s looking at the bubble, Smith hasn’t gotten much sleep this week as he prepared for back-to-back-to-back games in the Mountain West Tournament. He admits that he slept better on Saturday night than all week. Traditionally a night owl, Smith fell asleep shortly after 8:30 p.m. PT and woke up feeling completely calm.
Others doubted. He felt they were coming in. When the third-year Aggie coach who recently signed an extension to 2026 sat down in front of reporters – most of whom have his team covered all year – he clearly joked, “It’s so good to see guys,” because the state of Utah alone declined a Zoom call as the Aggies made the NCAA tournament.
But Smith never hesitated, he insists.
“We finished second in the regular season, went to the championship game and I knew our stats were very good,” said Smith. “I knew we had a good non-conference schedule, and I knew we had a lot to overcome.
“We want to play, and that’s our motto all year round. Then of course when it shows up on the screen, and you see Wichita State as an 11. But then I thought that helped us as an 11, and see UC Santa Barbara as an 11. a 12, it showed that it didn’t just appreciate the BCS schools. That was appreciated when we saw our 11. “
Utah State (20-8) recovered from a 1-3 start to the season and finished No. 2 in the Mountain West Conference with a 15-4 league record – the second best of No. 19 San Diego State.
The Aggies had a few wins over the Aztecs in a two-game home series from January 14-16, but losses against Colorado State, UNLV and Boise State prevented them from capturing the regular season title. San Diego State (23-4) opens Friday as No. 6 seed against Syracuse (16-9) in the Midwestern region.
After dominant victories over the Rebels and Rams in Las Vegas, Utah State’s bid for the Mountain West tournament title ended in Saturday’s 68-57 defeat to San Diego State. The Aggies were pushed to the edge of the bubble and bidding wins by Oregon State in the Pac-12 tournament, Georgetown in the Great East, Georgia Tech in the ACC.
The best way to fight the Sunday Scaries‼ ️
#AggiesAllTheWaypic.twitter.com/U4CDsScPP1
– USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) March 14, 2021
But when Cincinnati failed to hit another ticket for the American due to a defeat in Houston, Utah State narrowly survived the bubble to hit its ticket to the Madness for its third consecutive season.
The bubble opened just wide enough to let in the Mountain West’s No. 2 seed – and the Aggies hope to take advantage of this.
“We’re all happy,” said Neemias Queta, a Utah state star center, shortly before leaving a Zoom call to complete the wrapping. “It’s all we’ve been working on all year. When I saw our name, I felt a sense of joy and accomplishment. At the same time, I want to make sure we go in and do what we want to do.
“We want to go there to win, not just to be there. We are happy but not satisfied.”