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) […]
Mar 20, 2026; San Diego, CA, USA; Utah State Aggies guard Kolby King (7) reacts after defeating the Villanova Wildcats in a first round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Viejas Arena. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images | Denis Poroy-Imagn Images SAN DIEGO—Getting into March Madness is nothing new for Utah State, which is in the NCAA Tournament for the 26 th 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. 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.
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