Utah State Basketball Reacts To NCAA Tournament Seeding
Mar 16, 2025, 7:41 PM | Updated: Mar 17, 2025, 1:14 pm
LOGAN, Utah – The Utah State Aggies are returning to the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive season and fourth time in the past five years. USU becomes the second team to make the tournament in three straight seasons under three different, non-interim head coaches.
Following several minutes of anxious waiting at Maverik Stadium, the Aggies celebrated earning a ten-seed and a chance to face the UCLA Bruins in Lexington, Kentucky, on Thursday, March 20.
“This journey started for us in April when we got this team together,” Jerrod Calhoun said after learning the Aggies’ fate. “We certainly earned our way throughout the course of this season. We’re very pleased with the seed.”
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Calhoun took the reigns from the departed Danny Sprinkle and didn’t miss a beat. With All-Mountain West first-team player Ian Martinez, All-MW second-teamer Mason Falslev, and bigs Karson Templin & Isaac Johnson returning, Calhoun scoured the transfer portal to build around the trio.
Despite failing to claim the league’s only automatic bid, Utah State’s 25-6 regular season and overall resume constituted a team that couldn’t be left out of the dance.
Nearly a year later, the Aggies’ goal remains the same. Despite drawing UCLA in the first round, USU expects to compete and win.
.@USUBasketball is a 10-seed in the NCAA Tournament 👀🐮 pic.twitter.com/0qofLjmWGB
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) March 16, 2025
“We’re playing one of the most, probably the most storied basketball program in the history of college basketball at one of the most historic venues in Rupp Arena,” Calhoun continued.
The Aggies will have two days of preparation before departing for Lexington. Despite a handful of players being affected by illness, Calhoun expects to have all hands on deck when his team takes the floor on Thursday.
🚨 TIP TIME
📺 TNT
➡️ 7:25 PM MT#AggiesAllTheWay | @MarchMadnessMBB pic.twitter.com/4HGiZYmZFe— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) March 17, 2025
“It’s gonna be a winner and a loser,” the first-year Aggie head coach said, encouraging his team to leave it all on the floor. “We got nothing to lose, you know, let it rip, man. If you’re open, shoot it. Play as hard as you possibly can. Understand. You know, you could lose the game. Don’t be afraid to fail… We got some sickness going around with just, you know, the sniffles and certain things, you know, that conference tournament beat you up a little bit, but our guys will have a pep in their step for sure for the NCAA tournament.
The Aggies and Bruins will tip off at 7:25 p.m. MT on Thursday, March 20. The game will air on TNT.
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The 2025 NCAA Tournament begins with the First Four on March 18-19. First and second-round games will be played March 20-23. The 2025 Final Four begins on Saturday, April 5, in San Antonio, Texas.
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Brian Preece is a sports.ksl.com insider covering Locals in MLB and the Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian’s Bees and Beehive baseball here. Find Brian on X and Instagram and BlueSky at @bpreece24.
