Aggies Return To NCAA Tournament For First Time In 8 Years
Mar 16, 2019, 7:30 PM
The Utah State Aggies celebrate their win over the San Diego State Aztecs in the Mountain West Conference finals at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas on Saturday, March 16, 2019. (Spenser Heaps, Deseret News)
(Spenser Heaps, Deseret News)
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – After winning a share of the Mountain West regular season title and their first ever Conference Tournament Championship, the Utah State Aggies return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011.
The Aggies finished the regular season with a 15-3 conference record, which tied Nevada for the regular season championship. They narrowly knocked off No. 7-seed New Mexico in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament with a 91-83 victory.
Utah State handled Fresno State in the semifinals 85-60 and beat San Diego State in the championship game 85-60.
It’s the first ever conference tournament title in their six years in the Mountain West and their ninth conference tournament championship in school history. The last time they took a conference crown was in 2011, when they were members of the Western Athletic Conference.
Utah State was predicted to finish ninth in the preseason media poll and tied for first heading into the tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Aggies Playing Great At Right Time
Utah State is playing their best basketball and the best possible time. They have won 10 straight games and 17 of their last 18 games. Their current winning streak is the longest since the 2012-13 season. The Aggies have 28 wins this season, which is the third most in school history, tying the 1999-00 and 2000-01 season.
Ticket. Punched. #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/l2E9Brkz1L
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) March 17, 2019
The Aggies took home four of the six individual awards that are handed out by the Mountain West Conference, which includes Sam Merrill winning Player of the Year. First year head coach Craig Smith was named Coach of the Year and Neemias Queta taking home both the Freshman of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.
The 28 wins sets a school record for most wins under a head coach in his first year with the program.
Possible Tournament Destinations
Utah State will find out who and where they will begin their tournament run on Sunday with the NCAA Tournament Selection Show on CBS at 4 p.m.
It will be their 21st appearance in the NCAA Tournament in school history and the first time since 2011.
Nets were meant to be cut.
This net is coming back to Logan!#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/oNjnXFWWdT
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) March 17, 2019
The possible destinations that the Aggies could play their first round game includes:
Thursday, March 21 and Saturday, March 23
- Hartford, Connecticut (XL Center)
- Jacksonville, Florida (Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena)
- Des Moines, Iowa (Wells Fargo Arena)
- Salt Lake City, Utah (Vivint Smart Home Arena)
Friday, March 22 and Sunday, March 24
- San Jose, California (SAP Center)
- Tulsa, Oklahoma (BOK Center)
- Columbus, Ohio (Nationwide Arena)
- Columbia, South Carolina (Colonial Life Arena)
