Utah State Wins 8th Place in Midwestern Region and Will Play 9th Washington in Columbus

As Craig Smith sat in front of the press on Sunday after Utah State Aggies had learned which team they would face in the NCAA tournament, his voice was hoarse, as if shouting for hours. .

The team, meeting at Logan at the Maverik stadium, shouted with joy as it was announced that the Aggies were the No. 8 seed in the Midwest region and would play No. 9 in Washington at Columbus in the United States. Ohio, Friday. This is the first time Utah State has participated in the tournament since 2011.

"In a lot of ways, we really validated everything," Smith told reporters. "It was a historic race and a magical season."

After winning an automatic bid for the NCAA Tournament and Saturday's win over San Diego State, the Aggies won the highest tournament seed in the history of the school. Smith said his team had talked all season of the victory at the Mountain West Championship. But now that Utah State is going to dance, as they say, it's hard to believe it.

"It's been like a fairy tale," Smith said.

Utah State's bid for the tournament is the culmination of the best season in Aggies history. Smith joined the team as a coach in November with the goal of revitalizing the program. He did it and more by coaching his team to a 28-6 record and a Mountain West championship.

The Aggies were also honored with four individual CMM awards, reinforcing the idea that Utah State is a force to be reckoned with, even though it did not participate in any of the conferences. more sexual university basketball.

The confrontation is intriguing. The Huskies won the regular season title Pac-12, but were eliminated by Oregon in the match for the Pac-12 tournament title Saturday. Jaylen Nowell, a sophomore, scored 16.2 points and collected 3.1 assists in 34 games.

On paper, Utah State seems to be the strongest of the two teams. He averaged 79.2 points per game, while Washington scored 69.8. Sam Merrill, the Mountain West 's year – round player, leads the Aggies scoring (21.2) and assists (4.2), while Neemias Queta, rookie of the. year in MWC, leads in rebounds (8.9) and in block (2.4).

Merrill said he was shaking and felt like "real butterflies" when the name of the school was announced on television. From his first two years with the program, he never thought that the Aggies would be able to compete for an NCAA title.

"Our team has grown and every individual player has grown up," said Merrill. "It was an incredible race and I can not ask for anything better."

Basketball analyst Clark Kellogg said in the CBS broadcast that Utah State was to overtake Washington.

"They are really powerful," said Kellogg of USU. "They can score, they are excellent on the defensive and on the glass, and they bring 40 minutes each time.

The Aggies have a 10-game winning streak in Friday's game against the Huskies, who won their first tournament bid in eight years. The sophomore Abel Porter likes the way the Aggies play recently.

"I have the impression that we are reaching our pace at the perfect time for the tournament," Porter said at the Salt Lake Tribune. "I think we have guys who have a really good pace and because of that, we might be able to do some damage in the tournament."

Although Porter stated that he knew almost nothing about the Huskies apart from their position in the Pac-12, he believes that the opponent does not matter at this stage of the game. tournament.

"Because of the way we play … because of the attention we pay to defense, scramble and tough play, I love our chances against any team we face", said Porter. "Of course, we are confident to enter the match. No matter who we play and wherever, I feel confident in my guys. "