<p>SALT LAKE CITY — Utah has hired Utah State’s Craig Smith as its men’s basketball coach.</p>
<p>The school announced Saturday that Smith will replace Larry Krystkowiak, who was fired this month.</p>
<p>Smith turned Utah State into one of the nation’s best mid-major programs in a short span, leading the Aggies to the NCAA Tournament twice in three years. Utah State won the Mountain West Conference Tournament title in 2020, but didn’t get a chance to play in the NCAA Tournament because of the coronavirus pandemic.</p>
<p>Utah State won the MWC Tournament again this season and won 20 games before losing 65-53 to Texas Tech in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.</p>
<p>Smith has been an adept recruiter in Logan, bringing in players like Sam Merrill, now with the NBA’s Boston Celtics, and Portuguese big man Neemias Queta.</p>
<p>He previously coached four seasons at South Dakota before being hired by Utah State in 2018.</p>
<p>Utah State fired Krystkowiak on March 16 after he went 183-139 during 10 seasons in Salt Lake City.</p>
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<p>More AP college basketball: <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/College-basketball">https://apnews.com/hub/College-basketball</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Top25">https://twitter.com/AP_Top25</a></p>
