Is the NIT a possibility for Utah, and do they want to keep playing?
LAS VEGAS — The despondent looks on the faces of Branden Carlson and Gabe Madsen told the story.
Utah’s NCAA Tournament hopes were, in reality, over after the Runnin’ Utes lost to Colorado late Thursday night at T-Mobile Arena in the Pac-12 tournament quarterfinals.
Earlier this season, Utah appeared to be a strong candidate to snap its seven-year NCAA Tournament drought after the Utes picked up a trio of wins during nonconference play — over BYU, Saint Mary’s and Wake Forest — that could end up as Quad 1 victories.
Pac-12 action, in Utah’s final season in the league, ended up being the Utes’ undoing, as they went 9-11 in conference play during the regular season. They also suffered a pair of Quad 3 losses to Arizona State and one to Oregon State, the latter of which put the Utes’ already-shaky NCAA résumé near extinction.
It left Utah needing a deep run in the Pac-12 tournament, and while the Utes opened with a resounding 90-57 win over Arizona State in the first round, they came up short in the quarterfinals against a hot Colorado team that is streaking toward its own NCAA Tournament bid.
“I’m really proud of our team and these guys, even though it didn’t go exactly as we wanted. I said this last night in the postgame. March Madness is a special thing. And BC is a fifth-year guy. Gabe has the opportunity to play five years because of COVID,” Utah coach Craig Smith said after Thursday’s loss.
“But these guys grow up dreaming to play in March Madness, and grew up dreaming to play in games like this in a world-class facility, and you only get five or four years of your life to do it. I’m not sure people totally understand, just meeting with the team afterwards, those are hard things.”
So, where does that leave Utah (19-14), which hasn’t played beyond the league tournament in six years? Is the NIT a realistic option for a veteran Utes squad?
What did Utah players say about not making the NCAA Tournament?
Carlson, the fifth-year senior center and three-time All-Pac-12 honoree who returned to Utah last offseason after testing the NBA waters, and Madsen, the sharphooting guard in his third season with the Utes, expressed their still-raw emotions after the loss to the Buffaloes, and what it meant facing the reality the NCAA Tournament hopes were over.
“It just sucks, we work hard. As Coach said, you want to make the NCAA Tournament. And at this point you know you’re not going to make it. It just sucks,” Carlson said.
“It just sucks, we work hard. As Coach said, you want to make the NCAA Tournament. And at this point you know you’re not going to make it. It just sucks.”
Utah center Branden Carlson
Added Madsen: “I would say the same thing. It’s been a roller coaster every year. And for it to end like that, it doesn’t feel great.”
Carlson, who had played some of his best basketball in recent weeks, entered the Pac-12 tournament with an injured left elbow, suffered in the regular-season finale at Oregon. He played through the injury with a large, padded sleeve on his left arm.
“I just didn’t want to end this journey with any regrets. So I knew I had to go out and give it a try. And obviously it’s not completely healthy and its had its moments where it wasn’t feeling so great,” he said. “But for my team, for myself even, I had to go out and compete and try my best just because I didn’t want to go out with regrets of not trying.”
Why the NIT is a strong option for Utah
This year, the NIT is changing the way it selects teams for the 32-team field.
In previous seasons, regular-season conference champions who didn’t win their league tournament and weren’t invited to the NCAA Tournament would receive an automatic invitation to the NIT.
That won’t be the case in the 2024 NIT, though, and there’s another change that is likely to not only land Utah in the postseason tournament but give the Utes at least a first-round home game.
This year, the NIT is guaranteeing that the top two teams from the Power Six conferences in men’s college basketball — the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC — that do not qualify for the NCAA Tournament will be selected.
The top two teams from those conferences will be determined based on their NET rankings. Those 12 schools will also be guaranteed the chance to host in the first round of the NIT.
Once those 12 schools are selected, the NIT committee will choose the remaining 20 best available teams to fill out the rest of the field.
Utah is in a good position to earn one of the Pac-12′s two guaranteed spots in the NIT.
Arizona, the highest-ranked Pac-12 team in the NET at No. 4, and Washington State, which is No. 43 in the NET, are NCAA Tournament locks after finishing 1-2 in the league.
Colorado, No. 26 in the NET, is also expected to earn an at-large NCAA bid if it doesn’t win the Pac-12′s automatic berth given to the conference tournament winner. The Buffaloes play the Cougars on Friday in one of the tournament semifinal games.
After those three, Utah is the next-highest Pac-12 school in the NET rankings, at No. 51.
Oregon, which plays Arizona in Friday’s other semifinal, follows the Utes at No. 67, while Washington is No. 68.
Even if Colorado were to unexpectedly miss the NCAA Tournament, Utah would likely earn one of those two guaranteed Pac-12 spots in the NIT based on its NET ranking, unless Oregon were to surpass them.
The Ducks would have to move up 16 spots by Sunday to do that. A victory over Arizona would not only qualify as a Quad 1 win; it would come against a top-five team. Of course, if Oregon were to win the Pac-12 tournament, the Ducks would be headed to the NCAAs.
Then there’s Washington. The Huskies lost in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament, leaving them without the opportunity to improve their standing in the NET.
Coach Mike Hopkins, who was fired a week ago but agreed to coach the team through the rest of the season, said Washington would likely accept an NIT invite if the school receives one, though the coaching change throws that into question.
The NIT selection show will be at 7:30 p.m. MDT on ESPN2.
Would Utah be open to playing in the NIT?
Both Madsen and Carlson were asked if they would be open to continuing to play this season.
“I mean, yeah. I play because I love the sport and I want to play as long as I can. So whatever it is. You only get — you play for the games,” Carlson said.
Carlson and grad transfer guard Cole Bajema are the only two Utes who will exhaust their NCAA eligibility this season.
Madsen, along with forward Ben Carlson, joined the other two in being honored ahead of the Utes’ home finale during the regular season, though both have a fifth year of eligibility due to COVID-19, if they choose to exercise it.
“I just really love this team. As many times as you can play basketball, I feel that’s a good thing.”
Utah guard Gabe Madsen
“Of course. Nobody wants — this team has been through so much, and for it to just be done would suck,” Madsen said of the possibility of continuing play. “I just really love this team. As many times as you can play basketball, I feel that’s a good thing.”
Smith was encouraged to hear two of his team’s leaders unequivocally say, yes, they would like to keep playing and see where that takes them.
“This group is a really connected group, so it’s hard,” Utah’s coach said. “And going into the locker room after the game, you sit there a little bit, and you can look at this (referring to a stat sheet) but at the end of the day not being in the NCAA Tournament is hard.
“I didn’t bring up being able to play more basketball. So to hear these guys say that without us even — we’ve never talked about it. These guys love to play, they love to compete. Some guys love to play, they don’t always love to compete. And I think there’s a big difference.
“And these guys love to play and they love to compete, specifically these two. And, so happy to hear that, quite frankly.”
Smith also thought that returning to a national postseason tournament — after a six-year hiatus — could benefit a program that once was a postseason regular.
“Does it help us? Of course it does,” he said, while discussing the months of hard work that go into each season. Last summer, the Utes went on an overseas trip that kickstarted the work.
“... So hopefully we’ll have that opportunity. I feel strongly we will. And so then it’s a little bit of everything. You want to have everybody on board, but we have a lot of guys that love to play and compete.”
What is Utah’s history with the NIT?
The Utes have played in the NIT 14 times, with a 15-13 all-time record and are 4-2 at home.
The last time Utah played in the postseason tournament, back in 2018, they advanced to the championship game.
That season, Utah beat UC Davis and LSU at home in the opening two rounds, then won at Saint Mary’s in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals at Madison Square Garden, the Utes beat Western Kentucky 69-64 before losing 82-66 to Penn State in the championship game.
The Utes won the NIT in 1947, beating Duquesne, West Virginia and Kentucky on their way to the championship.
They’ve also made the semifinals four times, including 1947, 1974 (when they lost in the championship), 1992 and 2018.
