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SALT LAKE CITY — The reality of the moment set in for Branden Carlson Thursday night.
The fifth-year senior sat before the media, hoping to not show too much disappointment, but it was written all over his face — the previously shed tears obvious. Carlson went his entire collegiate career without sniffing the Big Dance — March Madness, the NCAA Tournament.
That point was further confirmed — not that it needed to be — Sunday afternoon when the 68-team bracket was revealed on CBS.
"It just sucks," Carlson said after Colorado ended Utah's NCAA Tournament bid in the quarterfinal round of the Pac-12 Tournament. "We work hard. You want to make the NCAA Tournament, and at this point you know you're not going to make it. It just sucks."
The childhood dream may not be a reality for Carlson and a Utah team that previously had more than a 90% chance of making the NCAA Tournament earlier in the season, according to various predictions, but postseason play is still on the table for the Utes.
It may not be the ideal destination, but after a five-year postseason drought, the Runnin' Utes have more basketball to play in March.
Utah was selected as a No. 2 seed in the NIT Sunday night, marking the school's first postseason appearance since the 2017-18 season, in which the Utes made it to the NIT championship game at Madison Square Garden but fell to Penn State.
"I feel like this group will rally around itself and find a way to come out and put our best foot forward with the next challenge at hand," Utah head coach Craig Smith said Thursday night about the possibility of playing in the NIT.
The Utes will play UC Irvine Tuesday (9 p.m. MDT, ESPN2) at the Huntsman Center, with a chance to host another game at home with a win.
