NCAA Tournament: Utah State men’s basketball expert previews the Arizona game, makes a score prediction

SAN DIEGO—Getting into March Madness is nothing new for Utah State, which is in the NCAA Tournament for the 26th time including six of the last seven tourneys. But winning a game has been far more rare.

Friday’s victory over Villanova was just the third time in the last 50 years the 9th-seeded Aggies (29-6) made the second round. Their last trip to the Sweet 16 was in 1970, when the tourney only had 25 entries.

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Utah State won the Mountain West regular season and conference tournament titles, though Villanova was only the third NCAA tourney opponent it played this season. That likely contributed to it getting a No. 9 seed despite being ranked in the Top 30 by KenPom.com.

To better understand the Aggies, we reached out to Matt Hanifan from SB Nation sister site MW Connection for some insight and a score prediction. Below are his simple answers to our convoluted questions:

AZ Desert Swarm: Utah State shot 62.5 percent in the second half against Villanova and only missed two shots in the final 12 minutes. What has been the key to the Aggies’ offensive success this season?

Matt Hanifan: “Aggies head coach Jerrod Calhoun is one of the more innovative minds in the country with how his offenses have multiple layers to their actions. Their offense is driven by ball and player movement. Rarely will you see Utah State’s offense completely stagnate in the halfcourt, where it ranks in the top 35 nationally in assist percentage. Mason Falslev and MJ Collins (as well as point guard Drake Allen) are the drivers behind that.”

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Leading scorers Mason Falslev and MJ Collins combined for 42 points in the first round. What are their best skills, and where do they struggle?

“Collins is a flat-out bucket getter. That’s his MO. He can score from all three levels and is a very good off movement as a secondary creator. He’s also one of Utah State’s more athletic play finishers in transition. Falslev is Utah State’s Swiss Army knife. He’s not as dynamic a…

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Publish date : 2026-03-21 18:05:00

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