Ags denied NCAA Bid
Despite finishing the season with a 25-3 overall record, the Utah State men’s basketball team became the first nationally ranked program in history to not receive an NCAA tournament bid Sunday.
After suffering an upset defeat to Cal State Northridge in the Big West Conference semi-finals Friday in Anaheim, Calif., the No. 22 Ags were passed over for an at-large bid by the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee.
“Everybody said no matter what we were in,” Utah State Head Coach Stew Morrill said. “Well, no matter what happened and we’re not in.”
Following the committee’s announcement, Morrill said he was disappointed but was not looking for a scapegoat to blame for his team’s misfortune.
“It really doesn’t do you a lot of good to whine about it,” Morrill said. “I’m just mostly sad for the players.”
Senior guard Mark Brown echoed Morrill’s sentiment.
“We have nobody to blame but ourselves.” Brown said. “We’re completely responsible. We play the games. We’re responsible for all three of our losses.”
In lieu of a bid to the NCAA tournament, the Ags received a request to play in the National Invitational Tournament. USU will face off with Hawaii Wednesday night in the Spectrum.
“We’ll see how we respond,” Morrill said. “Last time we were in this situation we didn’t respond well. We were devastated and we didn’t play worth a dang in the NIT.”
Although USU finished the season tied for the fourth best record in the nation, the Ags’ strength of schedule, or lack thereof, may have played a role in the being denied a tournament bid, senior guard Cardell Butler said.
“I don’t know what it was: How hard our schedule was or whether we were supposed to win our conference,” Butler
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said. “But that was like a slap in the face. We won 25 games. I don’t see how we didn’t get in.”
Morrill said the committee’s decision to keep the Ags out of the tournament sent a tough message to mid-major, or “one-bid conference” teams.
“We are in the league we are in,” Morrill said. “Eighteen league games is going to lower our strength of schedule. What do you want us to do?”
Playing so-called powerhouse teams as a means for improving strength of schedule is not as viable an option as it is made out to be, Morrill said.
“We have nine preseason games and three of those are dictated by in-state teams,” Morrill said. “So we’re talking about four games that are supposed to offset an 18-game league schedule. That’s not going to happen. It’s your strength of schedule, then it’s your Ratings Percentage Index. It’s a vicious circle.”
USU was one of a handful of teams on the bubble who were overlooked on Selection Sunday. Colorado, Florida State and Missouri were also denied bids.
BYU (22-8), Air Force (22-6), Alabama (17-12) and Texas-El Paso (23-7) top the list of teams on the bubble who received NCAA nods Sunday.
“I can’t find any fault with taking UTEP or BYU,” Morrill said. “It’s just disappointing that we somehow didn’t slide our way in. And there are a lot of teams that feel the same way right now.”
Mountain West Conference Champion Utah received an automatic bid and a No. 11 seed in the tournament, while BYU received an at-large bid and a No. 12 seed. BWC Champion Pacific also received a No. 12 seed in the tournament.
“There are a lot of experts, but the reality is that they don’t know,” Morrill said. “The committee knows.”
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Utah State Forward Jason Williams drives to the basket around Etogwara Onyenegecha to attempt to attempt a last-minute shot to win the game during the Big West Tournament Friday. (Photo by Ryan Talbot)