UTAH D1 SCHOOLS MARCH MADNESS APPEARANCES SINCE 2000
It’s that time of the year again.
After sitting for full Sunday’s devouring any football content we could get our hands on, it’s now time to shift all attention to the hardwood.
March is that wonderful time of the year where fans pretend they’ve been following their favorite college team throughout the basketball season.
By taking 15 minutes during a lunch break to fabricate the perfect bracket built upon supposed superior intellect and gut feelings you too can feel a part of the action.
In the beehive state, fans are gearing up for the very real possibility of having three teams represented in the big dance.
Utah Valley just clinched the WAC regular season championship finishing with a 22-7 record while only losing one game in conference play.
BYU is currently ranked 23rd in the nation riding on the back of a 7 game win streak including wins over two ranked teams on the road.
The Cougars are 22-8 and 13-6 in Big 12 play.
Utah State has slipped up a bit within the last few weeks dropping two straight games, both away from Logan, but their hot start to the season still has USU in control of their own destiny.
The Aggies will look to shake losses in 3 of their last 5 with a stellar Mountain West conference tournament where they went 14-5 against conference foes all the while still boasting a 24-6 record overall.
Nothing is a guarantee, but it’s a safe bet to say that one can expect at least a Utah school in the 68 team tournament.
So what has been Utah schools track record the past 25 years when it comes to basketball’s most famous tournament?
Between all eligible school’s in Utah, BYU, Utah State, Weber State, Southern Utah and Utah Tech, there have been a combined 36 total NCAA tournament appearances combined since the 2000-2001 season.
BYU COUGARS:
BYU has the most appearances in that span with 13 altogether.
From the 2006 season to the 2011 season BYU totaled 6 consecutive appearances straight.
The 13 appearances consist of 9 first round exits including three straight with losses in 2014-15, 2020-2021 and last seasons loss to Duquesne.
BYU has 3 2nd round appearances with their last coming back in the 2013-2014 season.
That leaves the 2010-2011 teams as the only BYU team since 2000 to go any further, a feat that saw Jimmer Fredette’s Cougars fall to Chandler Parson’s Florida Gators in the sweet 16.
UTAH STATE AGGIES:
Utah State has the 2nd most appearances right behind the Cougars with 11 showings themselves.
Like BYU, Utah State also made the dance last year, but unlike the Cougars the Aggies won their first round matchup against TCU before being tossed by Purdue in the 2nd round.
That 2nd round appearance however was their first since 2000.
The closet they came to advancing another time was the 2010-2011 season in a narrow 73-68 defeat to Rodney McGruder’s Kansas State Wildcats.
If USU punches their ticket this year, it will mark three consecutive seasons of post season play, tying the streak they posted from the 08-09 season to the 2010-2011 season.
UTAH UTES:
Utah’s gone dancing 7 times since the 2000 season, a rough fall off from when they went to the NCAA tournament 8 times from 1990-2000.
If Utah can’t run the table in the Big 12 tournament they would be looking at their 9th straight season without a tournament bid.
The 2015-2016 season was the last time they played late into March and only the 2nd time they made played in the 2nd round since 2000.
The other 5 appearances feature three first round exits and two sweet sixteen bids.
So despite having less appearances than BYU or Utah State, the Utes at least have the quality over quantity argument going for them.
Four straight seasons, starting in 2001 and going until 2005 saw Utah in the show.
The last season of that streak (2004-2005) resulted in Utah with Andrew Bogut eventually falling to Kentucky with Rajon Rondo in the sweet 16, 62-52.
The other appearance in the regional semifinal was Delon Wright, Jakob Poeltl and Utah bowing out to Jahlil Okafor, Justice Winslow and Duke in a hard fought 63-57 loss in the 2014-2015 season tournament.
WEBER STATE WILDCATS:
The Wildcats have made it to tourney time 4 times since 2000.
None have been consecutive, but they did make it to two NCAA tournaments in 3 seasons in 2013-14 and 2015-16.
Weber State’s best showing in that timeframe had to be the time where Joel Bolomboy and the Wildcats gave Aaron Gordon and TJ McConnell all they could handle in a 68-59 loss to Arizona in an oh so close upset in the round of 64.
If winning the Big Sky tournament is in their future and the cards play out in a way that provides nothing less than a miracle, Weber State would snap an 8 year skid.
SOUTHERN UTAH THUNDERBIRDS
Yes, SUU is on the board.
On a list based on the seasons from 2000 and beyond, they barely made the cut, but the T-Birds played on the big stage back in the 2000-2001 season.
The first round loss was a thrilling, down to the wire game that nearly saw SUU upset Boston College in a 68-65 game.
Regardless it was quick exit for Southern Utah and they haven’t returned since, making it a 23 year absence, with year 24 a likely possibility.
SUU will have to play Utah Tech this next Tuesday in the WAC play-in game for a chance to advance to the real conference tournament itself before thinking of the main show.
If they can do that, they’ll have to run the table to find tournament play for only the 2nd time in their D1 history.
UTAH TECH TRAILBLAZERS:
Yeah, this one hasn't happened.
Utah Tech just joined the D1 level in 2020, and have just become eligible for the good stuff.
They get a pass with zero appearances.
If they can defeat SUU for the first time this year, the Blazers will be the ones with a chance to emerge victorious in the WAC tournament.
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