Missouri men’s basketball earned a trip back to the NCAA Tournament for the time since the 2020-21 season, and the Tigers are the No. 7 seed in the South Region.
MU takes on No. 10 seed Utah State at 12:40 p.m. Thursday in Sacramento, California. The Aggies are one of four teams from the Mountain West in the Big Dance.
After the matchup was announced, Tigers coach Dennis Gates said scouting the Aggies would begin immediately. While Missouri’s players and coaches attempt to figure out a brand new opponent, here’s a glimpse at the first team the Tigers will face in the NCAA Tournament, with a spot in the Round of 32 on the line.
Offensive efficiency, especially from 3-point range
Utah State’s biggest strength this season is its ability to make shots from beyond the arc. The Aggies are averaging 39.3% from 3-point range this season, which ranks fifth in the nation, and they have several players who can catch fire from long range.
Steven Ashworth is Utah State’s biggest threat from deep. He ranks fifth among Division I players in 3-point shooting, averaging 44.3% from deep.
But the Aggies were run off the 3-point line in the Mountain West championship game against San Diego State. The Aztecs held Utah State to just 16.7% from beyond the arc and its lowest point total (57) of the season.
Limiting the 3 can certainly limit the Aggies’ offensive capabilities. However, they also rank 13th in adjusted offensive efficiency, according to KenPom. With a host of players who can hurt MU from beyond the arc, the Aggies also boast an offense that can cut teams apart with sublime efficiency. They play fast, shoot often and can run teams out of the gym if they get hot quickly.
Double-digit starting five
To become Division I’s 13th-most efficient offense, Utah State relies on consistent play in its rotation. The Aggies have five players who average double figures in scoring, led by Ashworth’s 16.3 points per game.
Ashworth also leads the Aggies with 4.5 assists and 1.2 steals per game.
San Diego State consistently stopped Ashworth from taking over the game, something he’s done on several occasions, including a 30-point performance against Oral Roberts, another NCAA Tournament team, earlier this season.
Taylor Funk (13.3 points per game), Max Shulga (12.1), Dan Akin (12.0) and Sean Bairstow (10.4) make up the rest of the Aggies’ dynamic scorers. While limiting Ashworth remains critical for the Tigers, his teammates are more than capable of picking up the slack. MU needs a complete defensive performance, or its season could end at the hands of the Aggies’ balanced lineup.
Depth at forward
While Utah State’s strong 3-point shooting ability is the focal point of its offense, the Aggies are not undersized.
Funk and Akin are both 6-foot-9 and capable of utilizing pick-and-rolls with the guards to create open looks down low. Funk can take MU’s forwards out of the paint with his ability to make 3s — he’s shooting 37.8% from deep this season. Akin leads the team in rebounding with 6.9 boards per game.
The Aggies can also turn to 7-foot-1 center Trevin Dorius. He averages 5.9 points and four rebounds per game and had 12 points and seven rebounds in the Mountain West Tournament championship game.
Transfers and experience
Like Missouri, Utah State has an experienced roster with a number of players who developed their games at other schools before joining their current program.
Funk and Akin are both in their sixth seasons of college basketball. Funk played five seasons at Saint Joseph’s, while Akin played for Aggies coach Ryan Odom for four seasons when Odom coached the University of Maryland, Baltimore County Retrievers. Akin spent his fifth year at California Baptist before reuniting with Odom at Utah State.
Guard RJ Eytle-Rock also followed Odom from UMBC, and has had a few big performances off the bench recently. He scored 13 points in the Aggies’ conference tournament semifinal win over Boise State and chipped in six points and three rebounds in the championship game.
Both Ashworth and Shulga are in their third seasons with the Aggies, and Bairstow is in his fourth. All three players had differing roles last season but have improved to become focal points for the Aggies in Odom’s second season at the helm.
Odom’s March magic
In his first season in Logan, Utah, Odom took the Aggies to the NIT, where they lost to Oregon in the first round and finished 18-16.
Odom, however, made headlines in the Big Dance before his move to Utah State. He spent five seasons as the coach at UMBC, where he helped the Retrievers become the first No. 16 seed to defeat a No. 1 seed when they upset Virginia in the first round of the 2018 tournament.
During his time with the Retrievers, Odom’s magic in the NCAA Tournament was part of a 97-60 record. After MU’s matchup against the Aggies was revealed, Gates recognized Odom’s achievements.
“I have a lot of respect for the Odom family,” Gates said. Odom’s dad, Dave, coached at East Carolina, Wake Forest and South Carolina.
“Actually, I spoke to his dad probably less than a month ago. He does a great job," Gates said. "It’s well documented what Coach Odom was able to do with his run the last two, three years. He’s a tremendous coach.”
Aggies’ history in the Big Dance
As Missouri seeks its first NCAA Tournament win since 2010, Utah State has also endured a winless streak in the Big Dance. The Aggies are making their ninth trip to the tournament since their last win in 2001.
Utah State was an underdog in all but one of those trips. The last time the Aggies were the higher seed in their tournament matchup was in 2019, when they were a No. 8 seed and lost to 9 seed Washington.
Like MU, the Aggies have never been to the Final Four, but they have reached the Elite Eight twice, once in 1939 and again in 1970.
History against MU
MU and Utah State’s matchup in the tournament will be just the third meeting between the two sides. The all-time series is tied 1-1 after the teams traded home games in the late 1960s. Utah State won the first matchup at home in the 1967-68 season, and MU avenged the loss during the 1968-69 campaign in Columbia.
While it is not a storied rivalry, March Madness gives the Tigers a chance to measure themselves against a different kind of opponent, all with their season on the line. Kobe Brown can certainly give Utah State challenges — as he’s done to teams all season. Both teams are capable of getting hot from deep and play similarly fast styles, both of which should make for an entertaining game with a spot in the Round of 32 at stake.
