Gritty Utah State digs itself too big of a hole to rally from in NCAA Tournament loss to No. 1 seed Arizona

Utah State players react on the bench as they trail Arizona during the second half of a game in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Sunday, March 22, 2026, in San Diego. | Mark J. Terrill SAN DIEGO — For a few brief moments, the ninth-seeded Aggies caught a glimpse of advancing to the Sweet Sixteen next weekend up the road in San Jose.

Despite finding themselves down by 18 points early in the second half of Sunday night’s second-round game against No. 1 seed Arizona, Utah State clawed its way back into the game with its defense and managed to close the gap to just four points on three occasions. But each time the Aggies got to within a couple of scores, the feisty Wildcats scored on their subsequent possessions to keep their opponents at bay and eventually ended Utah State’s season with a 78-66 victory at Viejas Arena.

“It hurts. I don’t want to take the uniform off,” USU graduate guard Drake Allen said quietly. “Knowing it’s going to be my last time wearing it means so much.

And it really feels like a family. Everybody in Logan feels like one big family. ” Utah State (29-7) might have been able to get over the hump were not for a brutal performance from the 3-point line.