COLUMN: Dance is over, back to reality

    I believe that Tai Wesley said it best when he called it a “slap in the face.” He was referring, of course, to the Utah State men’s basketball team receiving a 12 seed in the NCAA Basketball Championship, affectionately known as the Big Dance. Like many of you, I was watching the NCAA Tournament Selection Special on CBS and was relatively shocked to see Utah State draw the same seed they did last year, having won three more games, and lost four fewer. Furthermore, we won both the WAC regular season and tournament championship. I was expecting an 8 or a 9 seed. It seemed further strange after learning that our own athletic director, Scott Barnes, was one of the 10-member committee chosen to determine seeding. But, as it turned out, we got the shaft and were forced to play a very talented Kansas State team that had previously beat the no. 1 team in the country, in-state rival Kansas.

    Now, there are plenty of arguments for Utah State to receive a higher seed. At the time of the tournament selection, Utah State was ranked 17th in the country with an RPI of 15. As far as winning, we had the fourth best record in the nation. However, due to unfortunate scheduling and a weak conference, our strength of schedule ranking was a dismal 102. We all wish it had gone differently. We all wish we could have achieved that elusive tournament win. Our guys fought hard, but in the end it just wasn’t enough.

    So, the seeding snub argument has been discussed to death. I now see it as a healthy way for all of us die-hard USU fans to go back to reality. We may never be among the perennial elite in college basketball. The fact of the matter is we simply do not have the resources. I know full well that our athletic director had very little leverage on what seed we got. This same AD has chosen to keep at our university one of many successful sports. He has chosen not to let our school go the way of those one-horse schools that have a single showcase sport and let the rest fall to the wayside. If you need an example of this, look no further than the University of Utah or Boise State. We also don’t have the resources of a church-owned school, but let’s not get into that.

    As a member of the WAC, considered one of the “mid-major” conferences, we are not seen by the rest of the nation as a threat to the elite. Taking recent experience into account, this just might be true. I am not without hope, I promise, but I truly love the Aggies where they are right now. I would much rather be winning consistently then play against much superior teams only managing to pull out a handful of wins. We are one of the best teams at our level. We dominate our conference and are pretty much unbeatable at home. Who could possibly ask for more? Our Aggies put on a show every time they set foot on the hallowed floor of the Spectrum. We have a situation where we can make fun of teams without holding back because the scoreboard never ceases to back us up. The Refraction writers can say what they will without fear of having to eat their words.

    Clearly this season was an enormous success. The seniors that led the team were some of the best to put on the blue and white. We showed the nation in our tournament game that we were not about to lay down and die, but would fight until there was no more time to fight. We had our opportunities to shine this season, and largely capitalized on them. Our rousing victory at St. Mary’s was only made sweeter by Jardine’s epic slammer.

    I don’t have to regale the highlights of the season. You were all there. The reason why we should all be content with the success of our team is their consistency. Stew has managed to win at least 23 games a season for all but his first season here in Logan. This has made Utah State one of the most winning programs of the past decade. Hopefully we will continue to improve as the years go by and eventually get the tournament wins we have been fighting to attain for years.

    Overall, life is good as an Aggie fan. The Spectrum is still a party. We still get to trounce BYU whenever they make the trek up to Logan. We still have one more year to beat on the WAC-stabbers, and the addition of another tournament team to the WAC, Texas San Antonio … let’s just forget that they got blown away by Ohio State. I thank the seniors leaving us for a job well done, and couldn’t be more excited to see the senior leadership efforts of Jardine and Pane, as well as seeing lots more playing time from this year’s young bench. Go Aggies!

Tyler Barlow is a sophomore in computer engineering. He can be reached at tyler.barlow@aggiemail.usu.edu.