Aggies stomp the Horned Frogs in their first NCAA Tournament win since 2001
INDIANAPOLIS – After coming off a tough loss against San Diego State, the Aggies pulled out a first-round win against the Horned Frogs in Indianapolis Friday night, 88-72, and achieved their first NCAA tournament win in 23 years.
“I think playing San Diego State last Friday prepared us for this win,” said head coach Danny Sprinkle.
USU started Ian Martinez, Darius Brown II, Mason Falslev, Great Osobor and Isaac Johnson. TCU started Micah Peavy, Jameer Nelson Jr., Emanuel Miller, Chuck O’Bannon Jr. and Ernest Udeh Jr.
The Aggies started the game off a little slow, down to Texas Christian University until 7:31 left in the first half where they got their first lead of the game. Utah State also had more fouls but were getting better looks at the basket. It wasn’t until later in the first half those shots started falling.
Osobor got two and-one plays in a row. He was shaping up to be the player TCU was worried about before the game.
Aggies tied it up with a two pass play coast-to-coast that led to an alley-oop from Osobor to Khalifa Sakho. The duo did it again the very next play.
“I told our guys, ‘We have to skip the ball to relieve that pressure and make them have some long close-outs,’” Sprinkle said. “Then, we either have shots or we got to attack, then we got to play the backside again.”
The day before the game, TCU emphasized they would lookout for cross-court passes in the press conference — but whatever their strategy, it didn’t seem to work.
USU kept themselves in the game, having made one three-pointer to TCU’s four. The halftime score was 43-47 in favor of the Aggies.
Johnson hit two threes in a row for the Aggies then two free throws to keep a steep lead. He ended the game with second-most points at 19.
“Coach came to me before the game and said, ‘Shoot the ball and be confident.’ So, I took his advice,” Johnson said.
Johnson struggled with his confidence this year; he was in and out of the starting lineup.
“Just my mindset and believing in myself — that’s something I’ve really been working on,” Johnson said.
The Aggies kept their lead the entire second half, not letting up to the Horned Frogs. They scored another seven threes, three of which came from Martinez, who score the most for the team at 21.
“Coach always tells us to keep shooting the ball and be confident in ourselves, and between the players, you know, we always try to keep each other up,” Martinez said.
The second half continued to roll in favor of the Aggies with an active crowd led by athletics executive director Tate Bennett.
The game ended with the Aggies dribbling the ball, waiting for the timeclock to expire. The final scoreline was 88-72.
On Sunday, the Aggies will take on Purdue — one of the best teams in the country, and who stomped Grambling State 78-50 just before the Aggies played.
Johnson is looking to be the main competitor against Zach Edey.
“It’s hard to compete with him up high, so you got to compete with him down low as best as you can,” Johnson said. “He’s not just a big body; he’s a really good player.”
The Aggies play Purdue at 2:40 p.m. ET, 12:40 p.m. MT on Sunday.