The state of Utah and Salt Lake City specifically was on full display during the starting weekend of action for the 2024 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. Salt Lake City hosted four games for the opening round of action and another two for the second round, while the greater state as a whole had two teams competing for the NCAA Tournament Championship.
The first being being No. 6 BYU and the second being No. 8 Utah State.
The two teams from the state of Utah who made the tournament had very different experiences sadly, and neither team made it to the third round of action. BYU fell in a close one to No. 11 Duquesne in an unexpected upset of sorts. BYU lost by four, 71-67. Utah State faired better, dispatching TCU 88-72, to move on to the second round.
Sadly, Utah State ran into a powerhouse Purdue team, and got dropped, 106-67.
BYU Senior, Jaxson Robinson, and Utah State's Great Osobor were arguably the standout players for both teams during their brief tenures in the NCAA Tournament this year. Robinson had a game-high 25 points in BYU's loss to Duquesne, while Utah Stat'es Osobor averaged 13.5 points and 6.5 rebounds across both games.
As for the eight teams that showed up to play in Salt Lake, two are moving on after six thrilling games.
- No. 15 Long Beach State (21-14) vs. No. 2 Arizona (25-8)
- No. 10 Nevada (26-7) vs. No. 7 Dayton (24-7)
- No. 13 Samford (29-5) vs. No. 4 Kansas (22-10)
- No. 12 McNeese (30-3) vs. No. 5 Gonzaga (25-7)
Dayton defeated Nevada 63-60, while Arizona handed Long Beach State a 20-point beating, winning 85-65. Arizona would then hand Dayton an early exit, 78-68. On the other side of things, Gonzaga defeated McNeese 86-65, while Kansas survived against Samford, 93-89. Gonzaga would then finish off Kansas, 89-68.
The winners from the Salt Lake City games, Arizona and Gonzaga, will now face No. 6 Clemson, and No. 1 Purdue in the Sweet 16.