The suspense is over.
Although the Utah men’s basketball team didn’t win the Mountain West Conference title or MWC Tournament, it will be going to the Big Dance?the NCAA Tournament.
Utah (21-8) earned the No. 12 seed in the South Regional, and will play No. 5 seed Indiana (20-11) at ARCO Arena in Sacramento, Calif. Should Utah defeat the Hoosiers, it’ll play the winner of the USC?UNC Wilmington matchup.
“I’m happy we’re in, it’s a relief,” said senior Jeff Johnsen.
“It’s an honor and a privilege [to go to the tournament]. It’s a great tribute to the guys,” said coach Rick Majerus said.
“I couldn’t be happier for [the players]. If not for 20 free throws, we’d be a top-10 team. We’ve beaten ourselves,” Majerus said.
“I’m so excited?tournament time is the most exciting time in the sporting world,” said sophomore Nick Jacobson.
Even before it was made official with the NCAA Tournament selection show, UNLV coach Charlie Spoonhour felt the Utes were a lock.
“I’m sure Utah is going to do well in the tourney,” Spoonhour said after his team eliminated Utah 76-70 at the MWC Tournament. “Utah didn’t need [the win over the Rebels in the MWC semi-final]. They’re already in the tourney.”
Even though Majerus would not speculate on his team’s standing before the selection, he felt his team was worthy of the selection.
“I felt we deserved to be in, but what coach doesn’t?” he said.
The game marks a return to the biggest postseason tournament after a one-year break. Utah was bypassed for the NCAAs last year, and was eliminated in the first round of the National Invitational Tournament by Memphis.
Although the Utes are in, Utah’s draw is no cakewalk. Indiana was ranked No. 23 in the nation before its Big Ten Tournament. The Hoosiers reached the tournament semifinals before losing to 62 60 to Iowa.
“They run the motion [offense] like us, they have good 3-point shooters and are thin like us. We’re pretty equal,” Johnsen said.
Indiana’s Jared Jeffries, the Big Ten Player of the Year, leads the team with 15.2 points a game and 7.5 rebounds per.
The Utes were one of three Mountain West Conference teams to get invited to the NCAA Tournament. In 2001, BYU was the only representative from the MWC in the NCAA Tournament.
Regular season MWC champion Wyoming (21-8) is the No. 11 seed in the West Region and faces No. 6 seed Gonzaga. The Cowboys made it despite being ousted by San Diego State 70-69 in the semifinal of the MWC Tournament.
San Diego State (21-11) went on to defeat UNLV in the MWC Tournament final despite being a No. 5 seed, earning SDSU the automatic MWC bid into the NCAA Tournament. The Aztecs are the No. 13 seed in the NCAA Tournament’s Midwest, and will play No. 4 seed Illinois (24-8).
“I’m a bit surprised to see three MWC teams make it, but it’s a damn tough league. It speaks to the talent and depth of the league,” Majerus said.