SAN DIEGO – One game down, five more to go (knock on wood). Tommy Lloyd and the top-seeded Wildcats took care of business on Friday in San Diego, dominating No. 16 Long Island (LIU) 92-58 in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament. After a full slate of game at Viejas Arena, Arizona now turns its attention to a school a little closer to home, as it prepares for a Second Round matchup against No. 9 Utah State in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament.
Get to know the Utah State Aggies
The Utah State Aggies (29-6, 15-5) were the best team in the Mountain West Conference this season, so it’s only fitting that they’ll go head-to-head against Arizona in an arena one of its Mountain West foes calls home. Similar to the Wildcats’ First Round opponent, the Aggies swept their conference regular season and tournament titles, finishing a game above San Diego State in the regular season, before taking down the Aztecs 73-62 in the conference tournament championship.
Utah State is making its 26th NCAA Tournament appearance and has made it to the Big Dance in both seasons under head coach Jerrod Calhoun. The Aggies have made four consecutive March Madness appearances, as well as five of the last six tournaments.
Calhoun, the Mountain West Coach of the Year, has an 295-158 overall record in his career, including a 55-14 record with the Aggies through his first two seasons.
On the court, the Aggies are led by Mountain West Player of the Year Mason Falslev, who’s contributing 16.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.9 steals per game, while connecting on 52.2% of his shots from the field. The back court also features senior guard and Mountain West Tournament MVP MJ Collins Jr., who is averaging 17.7 points, 1.6 assists, and nearly a steal per game, while shooting 49.4% from the field, as well as grad student and All-Mountain West Honorable Mention Drake Allen, who averages 4.7 assist and 2.0 steals per game (both team highs).
Adlan Elamin, Zach Keller, and Karson Templin hold things down in the front court for the Aggies. While they’re not eye-popping stats, the freshman Elamin averages 6.7 points and 3.1 rebounds per game, but gives Utah State some much needed size against the Wildcats, standing at 6-foot-9. Starting center Zach Keller also adds size to the Aggies’ front court, standing at 6-foot-10, while averaging 3.5 points and 2.1 rebounds per game. Templin, the 2026 Mountain West Sixth Man of the Year, is a spark off the bench for Calhoun’s squad. The junior from Texas averages 8.9 points and 4.2 rebounds, while shooting 51.4% from the field for the Aggies.
Utah State by the Numbers:
Utah State checks in at No. 29 in the most up-to-date KenPom.com ratings, with the 27th-best offense and 43rd-rated defense in the nation. The Aggies are one of the best two-point shooting teams in the nation, connecting on 59.8% of their shots from inside the arc, which ranks ninth amongst college basketball.
The Aggies have some gaps on defense though. Utah State is tied for 232nd in defensive rebounding this season, averaging 23.8 defensive boards per game, and allows opponents to score 70.5 points per game, which ranks 85th nationally. Some of the lack of rebounding is due to how active and handsy the Aggies are on defensive. Utah State is among the top 30 teams in the nation in turnovers forced per game, averaging 14.1 takeaways. It’s 8.2 steals per game are also good for 51st in the nation.
Against Villanova, Falslev finished with a team-high 22 points and seven rebounds, shooting 9-16 (56.3%) from the field, but went 0-3 from beyond the arc. Collins Jr. was right behind him, scoring 20 points on 7-12 shooting.
The Aggies were on the plus side of just about every statistical category in the First Round against the Wildcats from Villanova. Utah State had the edge on the glass, out-rebounding Villanova 37-27, but were -1 on the offensive boards. It didn’t matter though, as Utah State had a 13-6 edge in second chance points. Both teams finished with nine turnovers, but USU capitalized on their opportunities, scoring 18 points of takeaways, compared to just nine for Villanova.
The Aggies got out in transition much better than the Wildcats, finishing with a 14-2 advantage in fast break points, and dominated Villanova 42-26 in the paint.
Arizona-Utah State Preview & Prediction:
This will be just the fifth meeting all-time between Arizona and Utah State. The Wildcats are 1-3 against the Aggies, but were victorious in the last meeting, when No. 3 Arizona bested No. 14 Utah State 66-53 in Boise in the First Round 2005 NCAA Tournament.
Utah State will certainly be a tougher challenge than LIU. The Aggies are an efficient team at scoring in the paint and can cause problems on the defensive end with their active hands. Even though USU has the height to hang with Arizona, its players are no where near as strong and physical as the Wildcats.
Motiejus Krivas, Tobe Awaka, and Koa Peat should be able to get what they want inside, and as long as Jaden Bradley and Brayden Burries can take care of the ball, Awaka will be able to feast on the glass given the Aggies’ poor defensive rebounding numbers.
With USU’s reliance on its back court for offensive production, this is a game built for Bradley and Ivan Kharchenkov. Bradley, an All-Big 12 defensive selection, should be able to lock down Collins Jr. and Allen, while Kharchenkov will have the fun tasks of guarding Falslev for 40 minutes.
One thing to watch out for is the turnout of Utah State fans at Viejas Arena. Aggies fans are used to making the trip to San Diego for games against the Aztecs and were in full force on Friday against Villanova. Overall though, the Wildcats from Tucson are too good on both ends of the floor for the Aggies to disrupt them. Look for Arizona to cover the 11.5-point spread, defeating Utah State 78-63 to advance to the fourth Sweet 16 in five years under Tommy Lloyd.