Utah State stringing tournament wins
The USU men’s basketball team is still among a select few Division-I programs still playing basketball this late into March, and with how the Aggies arrived at the postseason, it means positive things for head coach Stew Morrill.
“I just think it’s positive in every way you can think of,” Morrill said. “The seniors, no matter what happens on Wednesday, they are going to leave with a real good taste in their mouth – getting above 20 wins and stringing together some wins in this tournament. Our younger players are going to get some confidence and get more experience and feel what it’s like to be in a one-and-done situation.”
USU will play in its first-ever postseason championship game Wednesday as it hosts the Mercer Bears after defeating the Oakland Golden Grizzles 105-81 on Sunday.
USU’s team isn’t senior-laden and didn’t feature much playing experience at the start of the season. Those factors were just a part of USU’s struggles throughout most of the season.
“Just more experience for guys is positive,” Morrill said. “I keep going back to when we were 14-14 and it could have went south, but these guys didn’t let it go south. That says a lot for them and makes me very proud of them.”
Despite not playing in the NCAA tournament, USU has still put together four consecutive wins during the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.
“It’s been great for our confidence,” sophomore guard Danny Berger said. “We’ve obviously had some struggles this season. Stringing a few together in this tournament has been really positive for us.
“Obviously, our goal is to get to the NCAA tournament, but this tournament is good, too, and we’re making a run and getting some experience.”
USU’s last postseason tournament win came in 2001 when the Aggies defeated the Ohio Buckeyes in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. USU fell in the second round to University of California, Los Angeles, and didn’t notch a postseason victory until this season.
“We haven’t had the best of draws in postseason before,” Grim said. “We’re winning games and we’re showing that we can do it. Hopefully that will carry over to next year and get some guys some confidence. I think it’s an overall good thing for everybody.”
The momentum USU carries now may carry over into next season, as well.
“I think it’s bigtime for our guys that are coming back,” Grim said. “We’re a really young team obviously, and we’re going to have a bunch of guys coming back. This is great for them. It means more playing time and postseason experience.”
– ty.d.hus@aggiemail.usu.edu