# 2022–23 Utah State Aggies men's basketball team

The 2022–23 Utah State Aggies men's basketball team represented Utah State University in the Mountain West Conference (MWC) during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by second-year head coach Ryan Odom, the Aggies played their home games on campus at the Smith Spectrum in Logan, Utah. They finished the season 26–9, 13–5 in MWC play, to finish in second place. They defeated New Mexico and Boise State in the MWC tournament to advance to the championship game, where they lost to San Diego State. The Aggies received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 10 seed in the South region. There they lost to Missouri.
On March 29, 2023, head coach Ryan Odom left the school to become the head coach at VCU. On April 7, the school named Montana State head coach Danny Sprinkle the team's new head coach.

## Previous season

The Aggies finished the 2021–22 season at 18–16 (8–10 in Mountain West, seventh place). In the conference tournament, they defeated Air Force in the first round, then lost to Colorado State in the quarterfinals. Utah State received an at-large bid to the National Invitation Tournament, but lost to Oregon in the first round.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Travis Wagstaff | 1 | F | 6' 7" | 215 | RS Sophomore | Salt Lake City, UT | Left the team for personal reasons |
| Brandon Horvath | 4 | F | 6' 10" | 210 | GS Senior | West River, MD | Graduated |
| Norbert Thelissen | 21 | F | 6' 7" | 218 | Sophomore | 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands | Transferred |
| Brock Miller | 22 | G | 6' 5" | 200 | RS Senior | Sandy, UT | Graduated |
| Justin Bean | 34 | F | 6' 7" | 210 | RS Senior | Moore, OK | Graduated/undrafted in 2022 NBA draft; signed with the Los Angeles Clippers |
| Matthew Wickizer | 35 | F | 6' 9" | 210 | Sophomore | North Salt Lake, UT | Walk-on; left the team for personal reasons |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous college |
| Isaac Johnson | 20 | C | 7' 0" | 225 | Sophomore | American Fork, UT | Oregon |
| Taylor Funk | 23 | F | 6' 8" | 215 | GS Senior | Lancaster, PA | Saint Joseph's |
| Dan Akin | 30 | F | 6' 9" | 225 | GS Senior | London, England | California Baptist |

### Recruiting classes
#### 2022 recruiting class

There were no incoming recruits for the class of 2022.

#### 2023 recruiting class

College recruiting information (2023) :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Garrison Phelps SG | Phoenix, AZ | Link Academy | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Oct 15, 2022 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 0 |||||||
| Dallin Grant SF | Cedar City, UT | Cedar City High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Sep 23, 2020 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 0 |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: – Rivals: – 247Sports: #65 |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 22, 2022. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 7, 2022* 7:00 p.m., MW Network | | Utah Valley | W 75–58 | 1–0 | 19 – Bairstow | 14 – Funk | 8 – Jones | Smith Spectrum (7,430) Logan, UT |
| November 11, 2022* 7:00 p.m., MW Network | | Bradley | W 84–62 | 2–0 | 28 – Ashworth | 11 – Akin | 6 – Ashworth | Smith Spectrum (6,875) Logan, UT |
| November 14, 2022* 7:00 p.m., MW Network | | Santa Clara | W 96–74 | 3–0 | 22 – Funk | 11 – Funk | 8 – Jones | Smith Spectrum (6,549) Logan, UT |
| November 17, 2022* 8:00 p.m., WCC Network | | at San Diego | W 91–89 $^{OT}$ | 4–0 | 21 – Akin | 15 – Akin | 9 – Ashworth | Jenny Craig Pavilion (954) San Diego, CA |
| November 22, 2022* 7:00 p.m., MW Network | | Oral Roberts | W 95–85 | 5–0 | 30 – Ashworth | 10 – Shulga | 7 – tied | Smith Spectrum (5,980) Logan, UT |
| December 1, 2022* 7:00 p.m., MW Network | | Utah Tech | W 86–81 | 6–0 | 27 – Ashworth | 8 – Funk | 10 – Shulga | Smith Spectrum (6,777) Logan, UT |
| December 4, 2022* 6:30 p.m. | | vs. San Francisco | W 82–64 | 7–0 | 19 – Akin | 7 – tied | 4 – Shulga | Chase Center San Francisco, CA |
| December 10, 2022* 10:30 p.m. | | vs. Loyola Marymount Jack Jones Hoopfest | W 79–67 | 8–0 | 18 – Shulga | 10 – Funk | 6 – Bairstow | Michelob Ultra Arena Paradise, NV |
| December 15, 2022* 7:00 p.m., MW Network | | Westminster (UT) | W 106–68 | 9–0 | 28 – Hamoda | 5 – Bairstow | 8 – Shulga | Smith Spectrum (6,047) Logan, UT |
| December 19, 2022* 7:00 p.m., MW Network | | Weber State | L 72–75 | 9–1 | 16 – Ashworth | 10 – Akin | 5 – tied | Smith Spectrum (7,000) Logan, UT |
| December 22, 2022* 3:30 p.m., ESPNU | | vs. Seattle Diamond Head Classic quarterfinals | W 84–56 | 10–1 | 17 – Ashworth | 10 – Shulga | 4 – tied | Stan Sheriff Center (4,333) Honolulu, HI |
| December 23, 2022* 5:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | vs. SMU Diamond Head Classic semifinals | L 74–77 | 10–2 | 18 – Shulga | 9 – Dorius | 4 – Shulga | Stan Sheriff Center (4,070) Honolulu, HI |
| December 25, 2022* 4:30 p.m., ESPN2 | | vs. Washington State Diamond Head Classic 3rd-place game | W 82–73 | 11–2 | 12 – tied | 5 – Bairstow | 5 – Ashworth | Stan Sheriff Center Honolulu, HI |
| Mountain West regular season |||||||||
| December 31, 2022 12:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Fresno State | W 67–54 | 12–2 (1–0) | 13 – Ashworth | 13 – Akin | 3 – Bairstow | Smith Spectrum (6,933) Logan, UT |
| January 3, 2023 7:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at Air Force | W 77–65 | 13–2 (2–0) | 16 – Funk | 8 – Ashworth | 4 – Bairstow | Clune Arena (1,461) Colorado Springs, CO |
| January 7, 2023 4:30 p.m., FS1 | | at Boise State | L 59–82 | 13–3 (2–1) | 14 – Funk | 6 – Shulga | 4 – Ashworth | ExtraMile Arena (12,007) Boise, ID |
| January 10, 2023 8:30 p.m., FS1 | | Wyoming | W 83–63 | 14–3 (3–1) | 22 – Funk | 15 – Akin | 7 – Ashworth | Smith Spectrum (7,890) Logan, UT |
| January 13, 2023 9:00 p.m., FS1 | | at Nevada | L 70–85 | 14–4 (3–2) | 15 – Ashworth | 9 – Funk | 6 – Shulga | Lawlor Events Center (7,315) Reno, NV |
| January 17, 2023 7:00 p.m., MW Network | | UNLV | W 75–71 | 15–4 (4–2) | 20 – Funk | 9 – Akin | 9 – Ashworth | Smith Spectrum (7,611) Logan, UT |
| January 21, 2023 4:00 p.m., MW Network | | San José State | W 75–74 | 16–4 (5–2) | 19 – Ashworth | 7 – Akin | 6 – tied | Smith Spectrum (8,895) Logan, UT |
| January 25, 2023 9:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at San Diego State | L 75–85 | 16–5 (5–3) | 22 – Funk | 10 – Akin | 7 – Ashworth | Viejas Arena (12,239) San Diego, CA |
| January 28, 2023 5:00 p.m., MW Network | | at Fresno State | W 70–53 | 17–5 (6–3) | 23 – Akin | 8 – tied | 6 – Ashworth | Save Mart Center (6,817) Fresno, CA |
| February 1, 2023 8:30 p.m., FS1 | | New Mexico | W 84–73 | 18–5 (7–3) | 20 – Bairstow | 7 – Funk | 5 – Akin | Smith Spectrum (8,851) Logan, UT |
| February 4, 2023 6:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at Colorado State | W 88–79 | 19–5 (8–3) | 26 – Ashworth | 6 – tied | 9 – Bairstow | Moby Arena (6,018) Fort Collins, CO |
| February 8, 2023 8:00 p.m., CBSSN | | No. 25 San Diego State | L 61–63 | 19–6 (8–4) | 18 – Ashworth | 9 – Funk | 6 – Ashworth | Smith Spectrum (8,765) Logan, UT |
| February 11, 2023 8:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at San José State | L 64–69 | 19–7 (8–5) | 14 – Ashworth | 7 – Bairstow | 5 – tied | Provident Credit Union Event Center (2,389) San Jose, CA |
| February 14, 2023 7:00 p.m., MW Network | | Air Force | W 80–65 | 20–7 (9–5) | 29 – Shulga | 7 – tied | 3 – tied | Smith Spectrum (6,935) Logan, UT |
| February 18, 2023 6:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Nevada | W 75–66 | 21–7 (10–5) | 20 – Ashworth | 10 – tied | 6 – Ashworth | Smith Spectrum (9,157) Logan, UT |
| February 21, 2023 7:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at Wyoming | W 65–55 | 22–7 (11–5) | 19 – Ashworth | 7 – Ashworth | 3 – tied | Arena-Auditorium (3,894) Laramie, WY |
| March 1, 2023 9:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at UNLV | W 91–66 | 23–7 (12–5) | 27 – Ashworth | 10 – Bairstow | 7 – Ashworth | Thomas & Mack Center (5,747) Paradise, NV |
| March 4, 2023 7:00 p.m., MW Network | | Boise State | W 86–73 | 24–7 (13–5) | 24 – Funk | 8 – Funk | 8 – Ashworth | Smith Spectrum (9,963) Logan, UT |
| Mountain West tournament |||||||||
| March 9, 2023 8:30 p.m., CBSSN | (3) | vs. (6) New Mexico Quarterfinals | W 91–76 | 25–7 | 32 – Funk | 8 – Akin | 5 – tied | Thomas & Mack Center Paradise, NV |
| March 10, 2023 9:00 p.m., CBSSN | (3) | vs. (2) Boise State Semifinals | W 72–62 | 26–7 | 19 – Shulga | 10 – Funk | 5 – Shulga | Thomas & Mack Center Paradise, NV |
| March 11, 2023 3:00 p.m., CBS/Paramount+ | (3) | vs. (1) No. 20 San Diego State Championship | L 57–62 | 26–8 | 13 – Ashworth | 8 – Akin | 3 – tied | Thomas & Mack Center Paradise, NV |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 16, 2023 11:40 a.m., TNT | (10 S) | vs. (7 S) No. 23 Missouri First round | L 65–76 | 26–9 | 16 – Funk | 7 – Funk | 4 – Ashworth | Golden 1 Center Sacramento, CA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. S=South. All times are in Mountain. |||||||||
Sources: