The first two rounds of the NIT have had plenty of unfamiliarity for the Utah basketball team, as the Utes have beaten UC Irvine and Iowa.
In the quarterfinals, though, there’s some familiarity with a Utah State twist.
Utah will host VCU in the NIT quarterfinals on Wednesday night (7 p.m. MDT, ESPN2), where two former Aggie head coaches will face each other.
The Utes’ Craig Smith was Utah State’s head coach from 2018-21, and he was replaced by Ryan Odom, who spent two years in Logan before jumping to VCU this past season.
“I think the world of Ryan. He’s a great man,” Smith said Tuesday before the two teams meet with a spot in the NIT semifinals on the line.
For Utah to advance, the Runnin’ Utes will need to find a way to get past a VCU squad that has two Utah State transfers leading this year’s squad.
Guard Max Shulga and wing Sean Bairstow left Logan with Odom last offseason and now are two of the Rams’ top players.
Shulga is VCU’s leading scorer, averaging 14.3 points per game while shooting 41.9% from 3. He also averages a team-high 3.7 assists per game.
Bairstow is putting up 9.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per contest, and like Shulga, he’s averaging 33 minutes per game.
Smith is familiar with both Shulga and Bairstow — he recruited both to Utah State, where Shulga played one season under him and Bairstow played two.
“Coach Odom and his staff have done an unbelievable job developing them. Those guys are very good players,” Smith said of Shulga and Bairstow.
“We knew that, and now certainly really watching the film, man, these guys can really play. They really understand the game of basketball and everything we thought when we recruited those guys, so you know, that’ll be interesting.”
Wednesday’s matchup will be the third, and final, home game for Utah in its NIT run, giving the Utes — and seniors like Branden Carlson and Cole Bajema — one last chance to play in front of the Huntsman Center crowd.
This year, the Utes have gone 16-2 at home, seemingly giving them the edge. VCU, though, is 7-4 on the road and has won both of its NIT games away from home.
Smith loves what he’s seeing out of his team at this point in the season. Even though Utah came up short of its goal to play in the NCAA Tournament, he continues to praise his players’ togetherness, something that’s been evident during their first two NIT games.
“We’re just celebrating each other,” Smith said.
“You know what I’ve loved that the people don’t see is the way we been behind the scenes with our communication and our game preparation. Like I said, we have another really good practice today — short, sweet and really good, really mindful approach. A purpose to what’s going on, a vision.”
— Utah coach Craig Smith
In Utah’s last game, the win over Iowa, Gabe Madsen delivered a career-best 31 points and made 7 of 15 3-pointers, showing a confidence to find his rhythm, and it paid off.
Deivon Smith put up his fourth triple-double of the season — with 19 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds — and the team, in general, showed the vibe and look that Craig Smith often describes when he sees Utah playing at its best.
“You know what I’ve loved that the people don’t see is the way we’ve been behind the scenes with our communication and our game preparation. Like I said, we have another really good practice today — short, sweet and really good, really mindful approach. A purpose to what’s going on, a vision,” the coach said.
“And you know, I don’t know if that’ll translate tomorrow. I don’t know in terms of a win, but we’re getting the proper preparation in and that’s the stuff nobody sees, so that says a lot when you’re two days short of six months that our guys are all in.”
For Utah to beat VCU, it’ll need to be efficient offensively against a Rams team that gives up an average of just 66.5 points per game. VCU is allowing its opponents to shoot just over 40% on the season.
“We’re gonna be really tested tomorrow by VCU. Top 40 team in the country in defense, these guys are high level on that end of the floor. Obviously they’re good on the offensive end, too. They’re playing their best basketball, winning five out of six,” Smith said.
“But these dudes can really really guard and are ranked No. 43 in defensive efficiency according to KenPom. It’s just so hard to get easy baskets on these guys.”
For Utah, the chance to play at famous Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, where the NIT Final Four will be played next week, and earn valuable postseason experience for a roster with so little of it is worth the effort the team is putting into these last few days remaining in this season.
“With this game, it’s our Elite Eight — whoever wins this thing gets to play in a Final Four at a storied place in Hinkle Fieldhouse,” Craig Smith said. “I mean the tradition of basketball and to be able to play there and to be able to play in a Final Four, it’s a real thing. There’s so many great advantages to doing this.”