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Louisville basketball: Teams Cards don’t want to see in NCAA tournament first round

By Presley Meyer

LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY - FEBRUARY 08: Lamarr Kimble #0, Malik Williams #5 and Dwayne Sutton #24 of the Louisville Cardinals huddle during the final seconds of the game against the Virginia Cavaliers at KFC YUM! Center on February 08, 2020 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Silas Walker/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY - FEBRUARY 08: Lamarr Kimble #0, Malik Williams #5 and Dwayne Sutton #24 of the Louisville Cardinals huddle during the final seconds of the game against the Virginia Cavaliers at KFC YUM! Center on February 08, 2020 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Silas Walker/Getty Images) /
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BOISE, ID – JANUARY 18: Guard Sam Merrill #5 of the Utah State Aggies passes the ball during first half action against the Boise State Broncos at ExtraMile Arena on January 88, 2020 in Boise, Idaho. (Photo by Loren Orr/Getty Images)
BOISE, ID – JANUARY 18: Guard Sam Merrill #5 of the Utah State Aggies passes the ball during first half action against the Boise State Broncos at ExtraMile Arena on January 88, 2020 in Boise, Idaho. (Photo by Loren Orr/Getty Images) /

Utah State

Wins over LSU, Florida, N. Texas

If you’re looking for a potential mid-major Cinderella then Utah State is a program for you. While the Aggies record doesn’t compare to the likes of San Diego State, Gonzaga, or even BYU, don’t get it twisted – Utah State is a very good basketball team.

Behind the elite scoring and shooting of guard Sam Merrill and a finally healthy big man in Neemias Queta, the Aggies are a team that could potentially sneak in as an automatic bid or steal away the conference title from likely favorite, San Diego State.

Utah State looked like a team in 2019 that could make serious noise in the tournament following their 28-6 (15-3) season that included winning the Mountain West Tournament and earning an automatic bid. Ultimately the Aggies fell to Washington in the first round, but it led to a top 25 ranking to start the 2019-20 season and a TON of hype.

That hype looked warranted early on in the year as they knocked off a Florida team once seen as a potential final four contender as well as fellow SEC school, LSU, all without their big man Queta.

Unfortunately, the injuries to Queta and others throughout the year caused the Aggies to hit a couple of rough patches where they took some bad losses that could keep them out of the tournament if they don’t win the MWC tournament in a few days.

As of Friday 2/28, Joe Lunardi has Utah State as one of the last four teams with a bye, but has them as 10-seed, which means they wouldn’t likely see Louisville in the first round. However, if Mack’s club were to drop a game or two prior to selection or Utah State suffered a bad loss, it may not be suprising to see the two team’s matched up.

Utah State is a team that I really think would give Louisville issues due to their experience, size, scoring prowess both inside and out, toughness as well as their ability to rebound the basketball. Behind Merrill, Justin Bean, and Queta, the Aggies are without question one team we don’t want to see.

Next. What is going on with the 2020 Louisville recruiting class?. dark

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