Utah State basketball's March Madness Odds: Aggies' chances of making NCAA tournament explored

Utah State has become one of the surprise teams in the NCAA men's basketball tournament and has a great chance of making it to 2024 March Madness due to its excellent defense. The Aggies (23-5) occupy first place in the Mountain West Conference standings with an 11-4 record and are unbeaten against Top 25 teams this season.

Utah State had an excellent start to the season, winning 16 of its first 17 games. The Aggies stumbled slightly in their next 11 matches, going 7-4 but still occupied the top spot in the conference after winning over San Diego State in their rematch on Feb. 20, 68-63.

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Utah State Aggies NCAA Tournament history

The Aggies have made it to the NCAA tournament proper 23 times and went 6-25. They reached the Elite Eight twice in 1939 and 1970.

Last year, they made it to the NCAA tournament and lost in the first round to Missouri, 65-76.

Nigel Burris #35, Karson Templin #24, Isaac Johnson #20 and Great Osobor #1 of the Utah State Aggies react on the bench during the final minutes against the Nevada Wolf Pack.

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Utah State March Madness odds

Utah State is ranked No. 22 in the AP Poll due to its excellent play in the Mountain West Conference. They are 12-1 at home and 2-0 against AP Top 25 teams.

RealGM has placed Utah State's odds to win the championship at +12500, while its preseason national championship odds are at +50000. On the other hand, its pre-new year national championship odds are +50000.

Bracketology projections from TeamRankings.com give Utah State a 98.5% chance of reaching the NCAA tournament and a 14.0% chance of gaining an automatic bid. The Aggies are given an 18.5% of making the tourney as its No. 6 seed. They have a 1.0% chance of making the Final Four and 0.1% chance of winning the tournament.

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Utah State basketball strengths

Offense

The Aggies are averaging 79.5 points which is 52nd in the nation. Their field goal percentage is the best in the conference at 49.4%.

Assists

Utah State has averaged 16.6 assists. They are 38th-best in the NCAA tournament.

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Utah State basketball weakness

Three-point percentage

Utah State is second to the last in Mountain West in terms of three-point percentage at 32.7%.

Three-pointers made

The Aggies have made the least three-pointers in the conference, making only 6.1 triples per game.