Just keep swimming: Utah State wins first NCAA Tournament game in 23 years behind ‘Big Fish’ Isaac Johnson’s career game

The fish claps rained down in unison from the Utah State faithful.

The man they call “The Big Fish” was busy putting the finishing touches on the Aggies’ first NCAA Tournament win in 23 years. Fittingly, Isaac Johnson was wrestling away a rebound from several TCU defenders.

The Horned Frogs didn’t have much of an answer for USU’s 7-footer all night. He dictated the game with a career-high 19 points, four blocks and three rebounds.

When he finally pulled down his last board and drew a foul, he dove on the floor and stuck his tongue to the delight of the crowd and the broadcast crew.

“He’s a fish,” play-by-play announcer Kevin Harlan said. “He’s a big fish.”

It ended with Utah State blowing out TCU, 88-72.

It is on to No. 1 Purdue on Sunday.

The last time USU won a game in the tournament was an overtime thriller against Ohio State in 2001. This time, there would be no dramatics.

“They haven’t won a tournament game, but we’ve been to the tournament a lot. A lot more than a lot of other teams,” coach Danny Sprinkle said. “It’s so hard to win a tournament game. It takes some luck. But it takes guys making big-time shots and big-time plays like tonight.”

None were bigger than Johnson’s and the play of his front court. Sprinkle went big against TCU and was rewarded with 46 points in the paint. Great Osobor finished with 13 points and seven rebounds. He danced around slower big men and shot 60% from the field.

When it wasn’t Osobor or Johnson scoring, they kicked the ball out of double teams to open shooters and easy layups. Ian Martinez went three-of-seven from deep and ended with 21. Darius Brown had 10 and Mason Falslev had eight.

TCU — with its trademark physicality — brought pressure to one side of the floor. By the end of the game, Utah State was throwing skip passes over the top for layups. A frustrated TCU coach Jamie Dixon admitted, “There’s no other way to put it, they simply out-executed us and killed us in the paint.”

“They really load to the basketball when the ball’s on the outer third,” Sprinkle said. “We told our guys, we have to skip the ball ... to relieve some of that pressure and make them have some long closeouts. And then we either have shots or we got to attack ‘em.”

For Johnson to be Utah State’s catalyst in this game says more about his last year. The former American Fork star redshirted on Utah State’s team in 2023 that went to the tournament and lost to Missouri. He was lost, both mentally and physically. He couldn’t consistently match the physicality of other bigs. It was a confidence issue, he said.

This year, he bounced in and out of the starting lineup as he continued to learn.

But against a Big 12 team on Friday, he was the aggressor.

It wasn’t only offensively. He altered shots and anchored Utah State’s 1-3-1 zone that befuddled TCU. The Horned Frogs settled for threes, shooting 31%. When Utah State went back to man, TCU’s offense was out of sorts.

“That’s actually the reason that I decided to redshirt last year,” Johnson said. “There’s been a bit of a mental battle going on and this year has really taught me how to believe in myself and have that confidence in myself. And it’s been such a great help to have my teammates and coaches have that confidence in me.”

Before the game, Sprinkle went up to his redshirt sophomore and asked him to “shoot the ball and be confident.” Two hours later, Johnson was introducing himself to the country as the “Big Fish.”

“It was a nickname I had since middle school,” he said on television. BYU guard Trey Stewart gave it to him.

It was a welcome moment for him and the program.

For the first time in 23 years, the fish will keep on swimming.