This year’s NCAA Tournament Cinderella? Some say it’s Utah State, Washington’s first round opponent

Tip off for Utah State and Washington is only just days away but the talk about Washington’s opponent is going strong. The Mountain West tournament champion is beginning to look like a darling in the hoops world, with some talking about the team as a potential Cinderella for this year’s tournament.

A closer look at the Aggies:

Making Utah proud

The state of Utah has had a proud basketball history, from the University of Utah’s Utes to the BYU teams lead by Danny Ainge and Jimmer Ferdette.

Utah State’s 2018-19 season only adds to that lineage. The Aggies overcame Nevada and San Diego State to capture the Mountain West regular season and tournament title. In Monday’s Salt Lake City Tribune, Gordon Monson wondered if this team is shaping up to be one of the next great Cinderella stories coming out of the state of Utah.

Brad Rock of the Desert News points out that for all of the amazing things the Aggies have done this season, one mountain is still left to climb. The program has not won an NCAA Tournament game since 2001 when they beat Ohio State in the first round.

America’s pick?

As soon as the NCAA Tournaments are seeded, bracketed and matched up college basketball experts jump in and make their predictions.

And a lot of the experts are liking Utah State.

Sports Illustrated’s writers picked Utah State in a 9-0 sweep, not the things you want to hear if you’re a Husky fan.

CBS Sports has a 5-2 advantage in favor of the Aggies over the Huskies.

USA Today’s writers are also picking Utah State in an overwhelming 5-0 advantage.

The Huskies are fairing a little better in the general public. ESPN’s Tournament Challenge has over eight million brackets filled out and Utah State has a razor-thin edge over Washington by a total of 50.6 to 49.4.

This story was originally published March 19, 2019 at 4:00 PM.