Jerrod Calhoun looked up at the lopsided numbers on the scoreboard and wasn’t satisfied.
Utah State thumped San Jose State this week, a 105-57 drubbing, that might’ve been unnecessary in a perfect world.
But this isn’t perfect.
This is (almost) March.
“You want to put the pedal to the metal this time of year,” Calhoun said the game.
The USU head coach and his Aggies have won plenty this year, 23 times to just four losses, but all wins are not created equal in the eyes of the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee.
“It’s kind of sad. It’s kind of a shame,” Calhoun said. “But this will help our numbers. When you blow out teams like this, it really helps your numbers.”
The Aggies jumped from 38th to 34th in the NCAA’s NET Rankings.
KenPom has the Aggies as the 41st team in the country.
Calhoun hasn’t shied away from the importance of those rankings for a team from the Mountain West Conference.
“At the end of the day, it’s all about the numbers this time of year. It’s all about the metrics,” he said. “You’ve got to take care of business when you’re supposed to take care of business.”
Of the Aggies’ four losses this year, two have come at the hands of New Mexico (42nd in NET)
Another to West Coast Conference leaders San Diego (40th).
“We don’t really have a bad blemish,” Calhoun said. “You could say UC San Diego, but their numbers are pretty good.”
Only a road loss at UNLV (No. 101) looks bad on the resume.
And Calhoun hopes that might change, too.
“We need UNLV to win games,” the coach said. “We’re all Runnin’ Rebel fans right now and we hope they win because we want our numbers to look good.”
The bracketologists like the Aggies’ chances to make the Big Dance.
But Calhoun doesn’t want to take any chances.
Even if that takes a few more blowout victories.
“Because,” he said, “if this team gets in, I think we can make a run.”
Up next
Utah State vs. San Diego State
Time: Saturday, 6 p.m.
Location: The Spectrum, Logan, Utah
TV/Streaming: CBS Sports Network
