Technically, they’re in the West Regional, but the Aggies’ place in the NCAA Tournament has a decidedly Midwestern feel to it.
Labeled a No. 15 seed by the selection committee Sunday afternoon, Utah State (24-8) will face No. 2 seed and perennial powerhouse Kansas (25-7) Thursday at approximately 8:30 p.m. at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City.
“We have a tremendous challenge, obviously, in playing Kansas,” USU head coach Stew Morrill said. “But we’re looking forward to it. It’s a situation where you can go have fun and compete.
“When you look at this sort of seeding, you’re going to play a national power and that’s just how it is.”
The Aggies learned of their postseason destiny Sunday afternoon while watching the jumbo screen on the new scoreboard at the Spectrum.
“Utah State” didn’t pop up on CBS’s broadcast until the later portion of the final region was announced, leading to many an anxious moment.
The general feeling was that the Aggies would come in as a No. 13 or 14 seed, so when the final, No. 2 vs. No. 15 matchup appeared, it came as a bit of a shock.
“You can’t be disappointed, though,” USU forward Toraino Johnson noted. “Whatever they give you, you just have to go out and play.”
Although the Aggies and Jayhawks are in the West, they’re playing in Oklahoma City under the so-called “pod system” instituted by the NCAA last year in an effort to try and keep higher-seeded teams closer to home.
Memphis (23-6) will face Arizona State (19-11) in the same Western pod, while the other, Eastern, pod in Oklahoma City features top-seed Oklahoma (24-6) vs. South Carolina State (20-10) and California (21-8) vs. N.C. State (18-12).
Utah State is making its third appearance in the NCAA Tournament in the last four years, but only two current Aggies, Johnson and junior forward Chad Evans, have Big Dance experience. They were both part of the 2000-01 Aggie team that upset Ohio State in the first round at Greensboro, N.C., before falling to UCLA in the second.
The previous year, USU lost to Connecticut in Birmingham, Ala., in the opening round.
The Huskies were the defending national champions at the time, but the Jayhawks, who won the Big 12 regular season title this year, are an even taller order this time around.
“When you think about college basketball, Kansas is just one of the teams you think about,” USU guard Ronnie Ross said. “It’s going to be exciting just to play against a team of this caliber.”
Kansas features two of the top players in the country in senior forward Nick Collison and senior guard Kirk Hinrich. Sophomore Wayne Simien is out for the season with a dislocated shoulder and head coach Roy Williams doesn’t have a lot of depth on the bench, but Collison and Hinrich are both likely All-America selections and are expected to carry the Jayhawks deep into the tournament.
Unless …
“We’re happy to be here,” USU forward Desmond Penigar said of the NCAA Tournament, “but that’s not where it’s going to stop. We’re trying to get victories. We’re not just going there to make a showing.
“We’re trying to get wins.”
