Column: Are the Aggies NCAA Tournament bound?
With February drawing to a close and March approaching on the horizon, one question seems to be on the minds of Aggie fans everywhere: Will the Utah State University men’s basketball team make the NCAA tournament?
“It’s definitely something we think about,” sophomore forward Justin Bean said. “But at the end of the day, like coach always tells us, we just have to be our best each day.”
The answer to whether the Aggies are NCAA bound, of course, is unclear. The NCAA tournament has 68 spots- 32 conferences in the country are given an automatic qualifier spot. That spot is given to the conference tournament winner. The remaining 36 spots are at-large and a committee determines who is chosen to fill them.
The NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) is partly how the committee determines its at-large picks. According to NCAA.com, NET uses a “Team Value Index, which is based on game results and factors game location, the opponent and outcome, as well as net efficiency, winning percentage, adjusted winning percentage and a capped scoring margin” to determine the ratings of teams.
Utah State currently has a NET rating of 38, eight spots up from its Feb. 14 rating of 46. This jump can be attributed to both Utah State’s wins over Fresno State and Wyoming, and other closely rated team’s recent losses.
“We know what we’re playing for right now,” junior guard Abel Porter said. “We’re in a great position and every game matters the same, whether they’re San Diego State … or whether they’re Wyoming and have one conference win.”
But even with this jump, the Aggies remain a bubble team and will have to impress to make it into the tournament.
“We just need to win and I say that because I don’t know that you can differentiate yourself in any other way, besides just winning games,” Porter said. “We try and play a style that is free flowing and everything, but I don’t really think the committee cares about style of play or anything. They care about ‘what’s your record? how many games have you won? and who have you beat?’ and so all we can really do is just go out on the court and just win games in order to make our resume, or whatever it is, the best it can be.”
Last year, Utah State qualified for the tournament, boasting a record of 28-7. They finished first in the Mountain West and won the conference tournament to qualify. The team currently sits in second place in the conference with an overall record of 22-7, with two more games left in the regular season.
The Aggies would not have to win the conference tournament to qualify and, aside from first-place San Diego State, are the only team in the conference who can say this — but it is the only guaranteed way to make it in. According to Bean, it is also a goal the team set for itself at the very beginning of the season.
“Our goal at the end of the day is to win a Mountain West championship and play in the NCAA tournament, so that’s been the same from day one,” Bean said. “I think we’re doing a great job just keeping that in the back of our minds and just letting that reflect how we practice how we play, how we talk. Just day in and day out.”
To not win the tournament would leave Utah State’s fate up to the NET and the selection committee. Head coach Craig Smith said he prefers to remain in the dark when it comes to the subject of his team’s tournament chances.
“I haven’t paid any attention to any of that stuff and that’s the honest truth,” Smith said. “I know our staff knows, I know our players know, like I just have purposely kind of lived a little bit in a bubble.”
Smith said what he can control is his energy, enthusiasm and making sure his players are well coached.
“When you do that, that carries over for the rest of the team, and put them in the best positions and continue to climb the ladder and be the best that we can be,” Smith said. “And at the end of the day, if it’s good enough it’s good enough and if it’s not it’s not.”
The Aggies next shot at improving their NCAA tournament odds will be on Tuesday, when the team takes on San Jose State in the Spectrum. This will be Utah State’s final home game of the 2019-20 season, with game time scheduled for 9 p.m.
Twitter: @SydChap