Courtesy of Utah State Athletics
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Redshirt freshman center Isaac Johnson scored a career-high 19 points and added a career-best four blocks to help No. 20 Utah State to a convincing 88-72 win against TCU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament here at Gainbridge Fieldhouse Friday night.
Johnson scored 14 of his points in the second half, including 12 straight at one point for the Aggies, as Utah State (28-6) snapped a 10-game NCAA Tournament losing streak and posted its first win in the Big Dance since 2001. Overall, USU is playing in its 24th NCAA Tournament.
That 16-point victory for Utah State is its largest NCAA Tournament win ever, bettering the 10-point victory it had against UTEP (91-81) back in 1970. Overall, it is just the seventh victory in the NCAA Tournament in school history.
Senior guard Ian Martinez led Utah State with 21 points, while junior wing Great Osobor had 13 points and a team-best seven rebounds. Graduate guard Darius Brown II recorded his sixth double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 assists, as he tied the single season school record for assists with 224.
Utah State finished the game shooting 55.0 percent (33-of-60), including 42.1 percent (8-of-19) from 3-point range and 93.3 percent (14-of-15) at the free throw line, which is a school record for a postseason game.
TCU (21-13) shot just 35.8 percent (24-of-67), including 31.8 percent (7-of-22) from 3-point range and 77.3 percent (17-of-22) at the free throw line. The Horned Frogs did outrebound USU by 11 (41-30) as it had 21 offensive rebounds, which led to a 19-14 advantage on second chance points.
Utah State, however, dominated inside as it outscored TCU in the paint 46-26. USU also had just nine turnovers in the game, while dishing out 22 assists, and finished the contest with 10 steals and a season-high nine blocked shots.
JaKobe Coles led TCU with 19 points off the bench and Emanuel Miller added 13 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
TCU scored the first four points of the second half to cut Utah State’s six-point halftime lead down to two at 43-41, but the Aggies scored the next four points. TCU got to within three at 47-44 with 17:14 remaining, but that is when Johnson scored 12 straight points for the eighth-seeded Aggies to take a 59-59 advantage. TCU, the ninth seed in the Midwest Region, scored the next four points to get within six, but USU answered with a 10-1 run to take a 69-54 lead with 9:29 to play. TCU never got to within single digits again as the Aggies built an 18-point advantage at 76-58 following a layup from redshirt freshman guard Mason Falslev, who finished with eight points, five rebounds, three steals, two assists and one blocked shot. A pair of free throws from Martinez gave Utah State an 88-70 lead with 2:01 to play and TCU scored the final basket to make the score 88-72.
TCU scored the first five points of the game and held an early 16-8 advantage before USU found its footing. The Aggies responded with a 14-5 run over the next 6:08 to take its first lead of the game at 24-23 with 7:31 to play following a layup from Brown.
Utah State then closed the half on an 8-3 run over the final 3:33 as it turned a 35-34 deficit into a 43-37 halftime advantage. USU’s largest lead of the half was eight at 43-35 with 1:03 remaining.
Osobor and Martinez led Utah State with nine points each in the first half as the Aggies shot 53.1 percent (17-of-32), including 33.3 percent (3-of-9) from 3-point range and 85.7 percent (6-of-7) at the free throw line. TCU shot 42.4 percent (14-of-33) in the first half, including 35.7 percent (5-of-14) from 3-point range and was 4-of-6 (.667) at the free throw line.
TCU outrebounded Utah State by seven boards (21-14) in the first half, which led to an 11-4 advantage in second chance points. However, USU had just three turnovers in the first half as compared to seven for the Horned Frogs, which led to an 11-3 advantage for the Aggies in points off turnovers.
Utah State will now face top-seeded and third-ranked Purdue on Sunday, March 24 at 2:40 (ET) on CBS. The Boilermakers advanced to the round of 32 courtesy of a 78-50 win against 16th-seeded Grambling State.
Utah State men’s basketball news and information is available on Facebook (facebook.com/usumensbasketball), on Twitter (@usubasketball) and on Instagram (@usubasketball). Fans can also get USU men’s basketball highlights on YouTube (youtube.com/utahstateathletics). Aggie fans can follow the Utah State athletic program on Twitter (@usuathletics), on Facebook (facebook.com/usuathletics) or on Instagram (@usuathletics).
