Utah State’s English Players Talk March Madness In United Kingdom
Mar 22, 2024, 9:46 AM | Updated: 9:47 am
Utah State guard Josh Uduje shoots a free throw at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum during the 2023-24 season.
INDIANAPOLIS – Every spring millions of people in the United States take an empty bracket and do their best to predict, round by round, which college basketball teams will win and advance at the NCAA Tournament.
But for a couple of players on the eighth-seeded Utah State Aggies roster filling out a bracket is a foreign concept.
London’s own Josh Uduje is one of them.
March Madness In The UK?
“I was just telling my teammates that I’ve never filled out a bracket before,” he told KSL Sports anchor Sam Farnsworth.
Uduje never filled out a bracket because he didn’t even know what March Madness was.
“Growing up I wasn’t even aware of the NCAA tournament at all,” Uduje said.
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But that awareness back in his home country of England is growing.
“I think now basketball is getting a lot bigger,” Uduje said. “I think having Great and I as two British guys in the Tournament hopefully we can bring a little bit more attention to that. But as I get older and into basketball (the Tournament was) what I wanted to be at.”
The feeling was similar for Mountain West Conference Player Of The Year, Great Osobor. The more he got involved with playing the game in his youth the more he was aware of America’s greatest tournament.
“I remember back home four and five years ago I was watching NCAA Tournament games at four in the morning,” Osobor said. “I was just finding any links on the internet to watch the games.”
Now Osobor is the one family and friends are waking up early to watch online from overseas.
The Aggies will tip off against TCU on Friday night in Indianapolis at 7:55 MDT. But for those in England, Osobor and Uduje will step on the court at 1:55 A.M. GMT. Here’s how you can catch the game.
Sam Farnsworth is a sports anchor and reporter for KSL 5 TV and KSL Sports. You can keep up with Sam in Indianapolis with the Utah State Aggies at the NCAA Tournament by following him on X and Instagram.
