SALT LAKE CITY — It doesn’t take a stat geek to know that Utah’s advancement to the Sweet 16 is a rare feat.
But it helps.
Crunch these numbers: There are 348 Division I teams and 68 teams invited to the tournament. Odds of getting to the Sweet 16? Not good.
The Sweet 16 is routine for some programs — Duke, Utah’s Sweet 16 opponent, for instance — but not for Beehive State programs, with one exception (more later).
For the record, Utah teams have qualified 27 times for the Sweet 16. This is the 16th time Utah has qualified for the Sweet 16 – easily more than the other three teams combined, with BYU totaling 7, USU 2 and Weber State 2.
That might seem like a lot unless you consider that Utah, Utah State, BYU and Weber State have played a total of 281 basketball seasons since the NCAA Tournament was created in 1939, meaning they have advanced to the Sweet 16 an average of about once every decade.
But that’s misleading unless you crunch more numbers. Until 1951, only eight teams were invited to the NCAA tournament, and from 1953 to 1974 the field expanded to between 22 and 25 teams. It wasn’t until 1975 that the tournament was expanded to 32 teams, which created the first Sweet 16 determined by a round of games.
That made the challenge more difficult. It was difficult enough just to earn an invitation, but then they actually had to beat several teams to advance. Since 1975, Utah has had 10 Sweet 16 appearances, BYU has two and USU and Weber none. This despite earning an invitation to the NCAA Tournament a combined 92 times — BYU 29, Utah 28, USU 20, Weber 15. BYU is tied for 19th nationally in most tournament appearances, just ahead of Utah.
Utah and BYU have more NCAA Tournament appearances than Ohio State, West Virginia, Pitt, Missouri, Maryland, North Carolina State, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, LSU and Tennessee.
But getting to the Sweet 16 has been rare.
Except for Utah. The Utes, with little notice, have advanced to the Sweet 16 an average of once every 4.75 years. This is largely because of Rick Majerus, who coached the Utes from 1989-2004. During one eight-year stretch in the ‘90s he took the Utes to the Sweet 16 four times, accounting for 25 percent of the school’s total, and the Elite Eight twice, as well as the national championship game once (1998). The year after Majerus left Utah, the Utes returned to the Sweet 16, and now here they are again.
BYU last qualified for the Sweet 16 in 2011 by beating Wofford and Gonzaga in the first and second rounds before losing to Florida by nine in the Sweet 16. Before that the Cougars hadn’t reached the Sweet 16 since beating Notre Dame on Danny Ainge’s legendary length-of-the-court dash in 1981, which advanced BYU to the Elite Eight. The Cougars have averaged a Sweet 16 appearance every 10.8 years.
Utah State hasn’t been to the Sweet 16 since 1970 and Weber State since 1972.
How does Utah’s 16 Sweet 16 appearances stack up? Kentucky has been there 41 times, UCLA 35, North Carolina 31, Duke, Kansas and Louisville 28.
Given their success in the ‘90s, it’s not surprising that the Utes boast the only winning record in the NCAA Tournament among Utah teams — 36-30. BYU is 15-32, USU 6-22 and Weber 6-16.
On Friday, the Utes add to their record with another Sweet 16 appearance, one they’re not likely to repeat for another few years if history is any indication.
Doug Robinson's columns run on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Email: drob@deseretnews.com