MBB: Aggies trying to elevate program with March Madness win
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — “We in past years have come to the tournament, haven’t really done what we all set out to do, winning games. For us, it starts with that. Then we’ll go from there,” Sean Bairstow, a Utah State Men’s Basketball guard, said.
The Aggies haven’t won an NCAA Tournament game since 2001. They’re on a nine-game losing streak from the second round of 2001 through USU’s first-round exit to Texas Tech in 2021.
On Thursday Utah State, a No. 10 seed, is set to play No. 7 seed Missouri in the first round of March Madness and they are on a mission to leave the Aggie jersey in a better place than where they found it.
“I’ve obviously seen the legacy that guys like Sam (Merrill) and Neemy (Queta) and Justin (Bean) have left for us,” guard Steven Ashworth said. “Now to be in a way, trying to do that ourselves as this team is trying to leave our own legacy, build off of what the players have built already, is something that we take great pride in.”
That next step is an NCAA Tournament win.
“Obviously it’s a dream for any college basketball player to play in March Madness,” Ashworth said. “That’s the pinnacle of what college basketball is. But at the same time, we talk a lot about how we don’t want to just get here, we don’t want to just be here for a day or two, we want to go and we want to play meaningful games.”
Victory would be a huge capstone for the Aggies this season.
“I think winning a game and getting into a good start in the tournament would be a really good thing to add to Utah State and our legacy,” Bairstow said.
But USU isn’t the only team in that boat. Missouri’s Kobe Brown was on the Tigers’ 2020-21 squad that fell to Oklahoma in the first round.
“I would say playing in the NCAA tournament is a big deal,” Brown said. “We all made it here one. None of us made it out of the first round. That’s our biggest goal, is to survive and advance.”
For Utah State to get over that hurdle and get the metaphorical monkey off their backs, will take a team effort. It’s something USU says they are ready to do because they trust each other.
“This team is a team that we know we don’t need one guy to be the star or the go-to guy to win games,” Ashworth said. “I think that just that in and of itself requires trust from the players trusting the coaching staff of what sets we’re going to run, what we’re going to do defensively, or trusting we’re going to be able to make shots when needed.”
Utah State Men’s Basketball at the shootaround Wednesday in Sacramento, California for the first round of March Madness. Photo by Phil Weber.
Ashworth said those principles “are what go into the trust that we have in each other,” which has been built as the team has gone throw battles this season together.
“This team has a lot of great relationships,” Ashworth said. “With that comes a factor of trust that I think gives us an advantage over a lot of our competitors.”
Another thing that sets USU apart is head coach Ryan Odom who — as Aggie fans have heard on nearly every broadcast since he took the job — led the University of Maryland, Baltimore County to the first-ever No. 16 seed upset of a No. 1 seed when the Golden Retrievers beat Virginia in 2018.
“It takes a lot of luck in order to have a chance to win any game in the NCAA tournament,” Odom said. “If you’re fortunate enough to make it to the NCAA tournament, you’re going to play a great team, a team worthy of being in this tournament. That team that we were fortunate enough to coach at UMBC certainly was worthy of being in the tournament, and it certainly is a memory that will last a lifetime.”
Odom knows what it’s like to be an underdog and how to use it to beat a big-name team.
“There’s a lot of emotion that happens as you’re preparing and as the ball gets ready to be tipped in the NCAA tournament,” Odom said. “That’s what it’s all about. That’s why we do this, is for these moments, to be able to play. I know both teams are going to be fired up to go at it.”
He is guiding his team to be present to counteract the pressure of the game.
“They’ve just focused on what’s right in front of them and they’ve been present and in the moment,” Odom said. “We’ve certainly encouraged them to do that. I have no doubt that they’ll do that in this particular game.
And like any team, Utah State will rely on its captains and veteran players, but beyond that, they’re taking the approach that their locker room has 15 leaders. That includes the highly-visible guys like Ashworth but also guard Rylan Jones, who has been sidelined with injury for most of the season.
“It takes everybody to win,” Odom said. “One of the keys for our team is just the connectivity that we have. We can’t just have one leader, four captains that are sitting up here. We have to have everybody in our program dialed in, pulling in the right direction, focused on our team being its best. I think we’ve had that all season.”
Utah State-Missouri tips off on Thursday at 11:40 a.m. MDT in the Golden 1 Center. The game will be broadcast on Aggie Radio 92.3 FM.
Featured image by Phil Weber.