The college basketball season is officially over, with many ups and downs, and Florida hoisting the trophy in a thrilling final on Monday night. We had an absolute treat of a season, especially for the state of Utah. Two teams from the Beehive State made a trip to the NCAA tournament, with many of the other teams making deep runs in their conference tournaments. Here is a ranking of the best programs in the state this season.
1. BYU Cougars
No royal-colored glasses here. BYU was easily the best team in the state this year. Its first Sweet 16 appearance since 2011, a slew of high-level commits, and a fourth-place finish in one of the toughest conferences in the nation is nothing to shirk at for Cougar fans.
BYU looks to be on top of this list for a while with #2 (curse you 247Sports) prospect AJ Dybantsa and 5-star transfer point guard Rob Wright on the way next season.
2. Utah State Aggies
The Aggies up in Logan had a fantastic season, led by Ian Martinez and Mason Falslev (who will return for another season at Utah State). They made it to the Mountain West Conference semifinals and were an at-large selection for the NCAA tournament. They unfortunately fell to No. 7 seed UCLA, but an overwhelming success of a season for Utah State. They also finally seem to have found a longer tenured coach after 4 consecutive stints of three years or less, hopefully Jerrod Calhoun will continue to stick around.
3. UVU Wolverines
The Wolverines from just down the road had a very successful season as well. The finished first in the WAC conference, securing a regular season title, and lost a heated battle to Grand Canyon in the WAC Tournament Finals. They were selected for the NIT and lost another close battle to No. 1 seed and old BYU foe San Francisco.
Head coach Todd Phillips is doing a fantastic job filling the shoes left by Mark Madsen, and recently signed a well-deserved extension with the Wolverines.
4. University of Utah Utes
It hurt me to put the Utes this high, but they have to go higher than the other three Utah schools simply because the quality of their competition in the Big 12 (regardless of how much they actually "run the conference").
The big story for the Utes is the hiring of Alex Jensen, an absolutely massive step in the right direction. While they finished just under .500 this year, I believe that Jensen will have their program turned around quickly as he looks to retool.
5. Utah Tech Trailblazers
Now, we begin with the three lesser-known programs in Utah, starting with Utah Tech. The Trailblazers had a relatively unsuccessful season on most accounts. They finished with a 7-26 record, and last place in the WAC conference. What boosts them here is a surprising upset victory over fellow Utah school SUU in the WAC conference tournament.
6. Southern Utah University
The Thunderbirds, along with Utah Tech, share a conference with UVU. They both finished at the bottom of the conference, and SUU actually finished two games ahead of Utah Tech, but their loss in the WAC tournament proves pivotal here to drop them to six. Senior guard Jamir Simpson was a bright spot for the T-Birds, he averaged just over 16 points per game this year.
7. Weber State
Rounding out our list is the Wildcats from Weber State. Their biggest detriment is performing poorly in a lesser conference, the Big Sky. They finished with a 12-22 record, good for second to last in the Big Sky, and made it to the second round of the conference tournament (called StarchMadness by the way) before being crushed by No. 1 seed Northern Colorado.
It looks to be a fun time over the coming years for basketball in Utah, with BYU, Utah State, UVU, and Utah poised to make some noise with their new coaches and players. Sit back, settle in, and enjoy the ride folks.