The Aggies will be battling history as well as TCU Friday at the NCAA Tournament

INDIANAPOLIS — As an assistant under Ben Howland at Northern Arizona in the 1990s, Jamie Dixon had a front-row seat to watch as the Lumberjacks tried to slow down a young, talented guard from Montana State.

“They won the league when he was a freshman, so we go way back,” Dixon said of Utah State head coach Danny Sprinkle earlier this week, shortly after it was announced that Dixon’s TCU Horned Frogs (21-12) will be facing No. 20 Utah State (27-6) Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The 8/9 matchup is scheduled to tip off at 7:55 p.m. MDT at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

“(Sprinkle) could shoot, so I’m guessing Utah State can also shoot,” Dixon added.

It was Sprinkle who poured in 30 points against Weber State in the Big Sky Championship game in 1996 to propel Montana State into the NCAA Tournament for just the third time in school history.

Sprinkle then added to his legend in Bozeman by guiding the Bobcats into the Big Dance in both 2022 and 2023.

But since Sprinkle brought along a couple of his best players from MSU when he was hired by Utah State last fall, Dixon isn’t totally buying into the narrative that the Aggies are one of the best stories in college basketball this year, which emerged as Utah State won 27 games and a Mountain West title despite returning zero points from last year’s team.

“They say that they have no returning players, but he brought some players with him from his alma mater,” Dixon said with a smile during TCU’s press conference Thursday afternoon. “No scoring? But then you brought in some players from Montana State? I have to give you an asterisk on that one, Danny.”

His comments were focused on USU forward Great Osobor and point guard Darius Brown II. Osobor played in Montana State’s NCAA Tournament games against Texas Tech (a 97-62 loss in 2022) and Kansas State (a 77-5 loss in 2023), while Brown was with Osobor and Sprinkle last season after transferring from Cal State Northridge.

Needless to say, that trio wasn’t particularly excited to see yet another Big 12 school pop up on the screen on Selection Sunday as their opponent.

“I don’t (know) why the Selection Committee keeps giving me Big 12 teams,” Sprinkle said Thursday. “But while the size and the length and physicality in the Texas Tech and Kansas State games was different from what we were accustomed to at Montana State, now we see some of that in Mountain West. So, I don’t think it’s going to be quite as big of an adjustment for our group right now because they’ve played against the San Diego States, the UNLVs, the Boise and Colorado States in our conference.

“I think we’re more built for that now, and I hope that shows up (Friday) night.”

Prior to Sunday afternoon, the Aggies were anticipating receiving a better seed in the NCAA Tournament. Instead, the outright Mountain West champs were granted a No. 8 seed — equaling the best seed in school history. Vegas currently considers TCU the favorite to advance to the second round.

“We knew as soon as we saw who we were going to be playing that we weren’t going to be favored in this game,” Brown said of the Aggies continuing to play the role of underdog.

“So, it doesn’t really surprise us at all, and we’ll be ready.”

Sprinkle compared the Horned Frogs to the San Diego State Aztecs, who knocked USU out of the Mountain West tournament last week, and the Runnin’ Rebels of UNLV.

“Especially from a defensive standpoint and because of their length and athleticism,” Sprinkle noted.

Like most of Dixon’s teams through the years, TCU uses its length and physicality to help create second-chance opportunities.

While TCU’s total rebound average this season is similar to that of the Aggies — 37.2 to 36.3 rpg — the Frogs are pulling down 12.5 offensive boards per game, far better than USU’s 9.8 rpg.

“One of Coach Dixon’s emphasis is on offensive rebounding; he likes tough guys and tough teams,” TCU forward Chuck O’Bannon Jr. said. “As long as Coach Dixon’s been around, he’s a had a tough team. And he’s instilled that in us. Even if we’re playing tough, he likes to call us ‘soft’ every once in a while just to get us going.”

Forward Emanuel Miller (15.6 ppg, 6.6 rpg) leads the Frogs in scoring and rebounding this season, creating a potentially intriguing matchup between the 6-foot-7, 215-pound senior and the 6-8, 250-pound Osobor (18.0 ppg, 9.2 rpg), who leads the Aggies in both of those categories.

Like he has all season long, the Mountain West Player of the Year is sure to draw some double- and triple-teams on Friday night, but Osobor feels like he’s up for the challenge.

“I feel like we just have to keep playing in our system to be honest,” Osobor said. “I don’t have to do anything special. I just have to be who I’ve been all season and rely that the ball will find the right person to score, whether that’s me or whoever it is. I’m going to do my part, and I trust everyone else to do their part.”

The Aggies will have their hands full trying to slow down TCU’s vaunted transition offense. Thanks in part to averaging 9.2 steals per game, the Horned Frogs head into the NCAA Tournament leading the country in fast-break scoring at just over 18 points per game.

“That’s kind of the key to the game,” Sprinkle said. “Our offense has to be great. Our ball movement and our body movement have to be on point because they’re one of the best offensive transition teams in the country. I think they’re averaging 18 or 19 points in transition, so if you let them start getting going with that — silly turnovers and live ball turnovers — that’s a recipe for disaster.”

In addition to Miller, Dixon’s lineup boasts two more double-figure scorers in senior guards Jameer Nelson Jr. (11.3 ppg) and Micah Peavy (11.1 ppg, 4.9 rpg), while 6-8 junior forward JaKobe Coles (9.7 ppg, 3.8 rpg) is fourth on the team in scoring.

All in all, TCU boasts a deep bench — 10 different players saw action in 29 or more games this season — and the Horned Frogs upset then-No. 2 Houston, 68-67, on Jan. 13, in Houston.

But TCU also got roughed up by the Cougars, 60-45, last week in the Big 12 Tournament, and USU’s Mountain West rival Nevada beat the Frogs 88-75 at a tournament in Hawaii.

The Aggies will be battling history Friday in addition to the Horned Frogs. Utah State hasn’t won an NCAA Tournament game since upsetting No. 5 Ohio State as a No. 12 seed in 2001, a stretch of 10 straight losses on college basketball’s biggest stage.

TCU, on the other hand, is 7-10 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, including 2-3 under Dixon since he returned to coach at his alma mater in 2016.

Dixon, who went with Howland when he left Northern Arizona for Pittsburgh, ended up taking over the Panthers’ program in 2003 and won 328 games in 13 seasons. Dixon’s remarkable run at Pitt includes a trip to the Elite Eight in 2008-09 and two appearances in the Sweet Sixteen.

“I’ve obviously followed his career, and he’s just been one of those guys that I’ve looked up to because of him being in the Big Sky and knowing him and Coach Howland,” Sprinkle said of Dixon, who is making his 15th trip to the NCAA Tournament.

“He went on to have tremendous success at Pittsburgh, and while watching him at Pittsburgh and TCU, he’s kind of created his own identity and just become of the best coaches in the country.”

Should Sprinkle find a way to lead his Aggies past “one of the best coaches in the country,” Utah State will face the winner of the clash between No. 1 seed Purdue (29-4) and No. 16 Grambling (21-14) Sunday at a time to be determined.

The Tigers knocked Sprinkle’s former Montana State squad out of the tournament Wednesday at the First Four in Dayton, Ohio.

Sprinkle said he likes what he’s seen from his team since the Aggies arrived in the Hoosier State on Wednesday.

“Keeping our guys focused isn’t going to be that big of a deal,” he said. “They’re hungry. They’re ready. Great and Darius played (in the NCAA Tournament) last year, and Great played the past two years. Ian Martinez played last year at Maryland, and Mason Falslev and Isaac Johnson were redshirting, but they saw what it was all about last year (when the Aggies lost to Missouri in Sacramento).

“But I see the look in our guys’ eyes,” he continued. “They’re not wide-eyed. There’s nothing going on right now like that, and maybe there was a little bit of that my first time at Montana State.”