One of the most intriguing questions for college football towards the end of season season is Who is In? Four teams are selected to play in the College Football Playoff once the conference championship weekend has concluded. This is not only a relevant question for college football, but also for college basketball, which has a much bigger field of teams. The March Madness field is comprised of 68 teams and the rules are pretty simple: You lose you are out, meaning every team is playing for their lives. After Utah State lost two games to Boise State there was a lot of talk about whether or not the Aggies would make the field but after Selection Sunday the answer became clear. Who is In? The Aggies are in.
Utah State received an 11 seed from the selection committee and will face off against six seed Texas Tech on Friday, March 19th at 1:45 PM EST. Texas Tech is a five point favorite, and according to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index, has a 74% chance of winning the game against Utah State.
Something important to note here is that this is March. Crazy things happen. However, Texas Tech does seem like a good bet in this matchup. Utah State struggled mightily against San Diego State offensively. The Raiders also have significant wins over Oklahoma (twice), LSU, and Texas (twice). Utah State did beat San Diego State twice but that is only one tournament team. The Raiders significant wins are over tournament teams such as Texas, who by the way is a three seed. To bring the point up again though this is March. Crazy things happen.
In order to win this game, Utah State needs to figure something out offensively and continue to play good defense. When the Aggies can find a consistent offense they are a scary team to play. Neemias Queta will need help from other players on offense but if Utah State can get the other players involved and avoid defensive breakdowns, this should be a fun one to watch that comes down to the wire.