Utah vs. UCI: NIT Opening Round Preview

Utah will compete in their first postseason tournament in six years, at home in the Huntsman Center against UCI, on March 19th

While they may have missed out on dancing, Utah will compete in their first National Invitation Tournament contest of 2024, tonight (Mar. 19th), against the UC Irvine Anteaters.

The NIT, college basketball’s original National Championship tournament, will give Utah their best chance to end the season with hardware after falling to Colorado in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Tournament.

Thanks to Utah’s strong first half of the regular season, the Runnin’ Utes earned a two-seed in this year's NIT tournament. The team's 2024 berth marks their first postseason tournament in six years. The last was Utah’s 2017-2018 NIT run that ended with the NIT Championship at Madison Square Garden.

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The Utes finished their season with an overall record of 19-14, ending Pac-12 Conference play with a record of 9-11, good enough for sixth place overall. At home, Utah held a record of 14-2, with marquee victories over programs like BYU, Oregon, and Colorado. In away and neutral site games, the Runnin’ Utes were far less effective, wallowing with a 2-9 (away) and 3-3 (neutral) record.

Luckily for Utah, it will face UC Irvine at home in the first round of the NIT. The team’s notable home advantage should lend to their ability to get away with a first-round victory.

Even with a home advantage, beating the Anteaters won’t be a cakewalk.

UC Irvine finished their season with a 24-9 overall record, finishing 17-3 in Big West conference games. UC Irvine was close to an NCAA tournament berth, losing a tight game to Long Beach State in the semifinals of the Big West tournament.

UC Irvine does not play through a single star but rather implements a by-committee approach. The team has four players averaging around 10 points per game. Guard Justin Hohn leads the way, averaging about 12.7 points on 45 percent shooting.

In addition to their by-committee approach, the Anteaters utilize a unique full-squad rotation aimed at always having fresh bodies on the court. As the Utah Basketball team page writes:

“UC Irvine utilizes its full roster with 12 of the 13 players with statistics having played at least 27 games. Of the 13, only two have played less than 350 minutes on the year.”

The Runnin’ Utes will have their work cut out for them to keep up with UC Irvine’s squad. Regardless, head coach Craig Smith noted that he expects his squad to be ready.

Utah is led by Branden Carlson, who is playing his final games as a Runnin’ Ute. Carlson averaged 17.1 points on the season on 49 percent shooting. Alongside the banged-up Carlson, will be sharpshooter Gabe Madsen, big man Keba Keita, and the trio of guards Deivon Smith, Cole Bajema, and Rollie Worster.

Despite faltering in the latter half of the season, Utah’s squad will look to prove doubters wrong and end their season with a NIT Championship. Overcoming their first hurdle, the UCI Anteaters is imperative to this goal.