Utah State coach blasts ‘atrocious’ decision after getting No. 9 seed

Utah State is heading to the Big Dance. Utah State punched its ticket with a win in the Mountain West Conference Championship, after already winning the regular season crown.

With all the success of the program this year, head coach Jerrod Calhoun had some expectations on seeding. When Utah State was given a nine-seed, he was not happy, according to Bob Lundeberg of Sports Illustrated.

“Really happy with the location for our fans and for our players—obviously San Diego is close—but I think the seed was absolutely atrocious,” Calhoun said on Sunday. “The one thing we don’t have is the (Quad 1) wins, but we’ve got great metrics on both sides of the ball. We’re top 30 in offense, top 50 in defense. I thought for sure a six or a seven (seed), was really hoping for one of those.”

Utah State will be playing in San Diego, California, in its first game on Friday, facing off with Villanova. They will have less travel and a friendly change in time zone than Villanova, but the benefits end there. If the Aggies do get the win in the first round, it is a date, likely with Arizona in the second round.

“I think we’ve got to look at it like ‘Hey, we’re in the West.’ That’s a huge positive for us, and our fans. But I just don’t think it was very deserving. I thought we should’ve been at least a seven.”

The team was the top team of the nine-seeds according to the full 68-team field breakdown. They sat behind Ohio State and Georgia as the bottom two-eight seeds. Still, looking at KenPom’s rankings, Utah State may have a case. They rank higher than Miami, a seven seed, Georgia, Villanova, and Clemson, all of whom got better seeds.

Regardless, the argument would not be completely valid. Iowa also got a nine-seed and is ranked higher than all of them, plus UCLA, Kentucky, and North Carolina.

Still, Calhoun will have his team ready, as they hope to pull some upsets in March Madness.

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