NCAA Tournament: No. 9 Utah State rallies to beat No. 8 Villanova, will face Arizona in second round
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 20: Duke Brennan #24 of the Villanova Wildcats falls to the court defended by Zach Keller #32 of the Utah State Aggies during the first half in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Viejas Arena at San Diego State University on March 20, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) | Getty Images SAN DIEGO—It’s only fitting that Arizona will need to beat a Mountain West Conference team in a Mountain West arena to get back to another Sweet 16.
Ninth-seeded Utah State outscored No. 8 Villanova 15-3 over the final six minutes to win 86-76 on Friday afternoon at Viejas Arena, setting up a second round matchup with No. 1 Arizona.
The Aggies (29-6) advanced past the first round for the second time in three seasons. MJ Collins Jr. scored 20 points, 16 in the second half including seven during a game-changing 9-0 run late in the second half, while Mason Falslev had 22 for Utah State.
Villanova (24-9) got 25 points from Bryce Lindsay and 15 apiece from Tyler Perkins and Duke Brennan , the nephew of UA coach Brent Brennan , but the Wildcats missed nine of their last 10 shots after taking a 73-71 lead with 6:04 to go on a Lindsay 3. Utah State shot 54. 9 percent for the game, including 26 of 35 (74.
3 percent) on 2-pointers, and made 28 of 37 free throws compared to 6 of 13 for Villanova. The Wildcats made 14 of 30 3s and held the Aggies to 2-of-16 shooting from outside but missed nine layups and shot 42. 4 percent from inside the arc.