Utah State’s defense controls Omaha in another blowout win

Nov 7, 2026, 4:26 PM | Updated: 5:32 pm

Utah State vs. Omaha Solomon Callaghan...

Utah State junior guard Solomon Callaghan turns the corner in a blowout win over Omaha at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Saturday, November 7, 2026. (Photo courtesy Utah State basketball, Arpan Bose)

(Photo courtesy Utah State basketball, Arpan Bose)

BY BRIAN PREECE

Digital Sports Producer

LOGAN – Utah State has not faced a heavyweight yet, but the Aggies have already shown they know how to throw a punch.

In two games under first-year head coach Ben Jacobson, Utah State has overwhelmed overmatched opponents the way good teams should — with pressure defense, transition scoring, and enough offensive flashes to suggest more is coming.

The Aggies are still learning a new system and blending 11 new players, but their early formula is already clear.

Wins over Idaho State and Omaha won’t define Utah State’s season. The schedule gets tougher, the rotations will tighten, and the offense still has plenty to clean up. But through two games, the Aggies have already shown the makings of a team with a reliable identity: defend hard, run when possible, attack the paint and let their growing collection of shooters stretch the floor.

That formula showed up again against Omaha in a 90-56 win.

𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐌𝐄 𝐀 𝐃𝐔𝐁 🤘 https://t.co/0IeHnSKvbB

— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) November 7, 2026

“The defense was better today. You could feel it,” Jacobson said postgame. “We’re guarding the ball better, and our communication is better.”

Utah State built a 30-point lead early in the second half and showed no signs of easing off the pressure that created it. The Aggies forced rushed possessions, turned turnovers into easy points, and used their size advantage to control the game inside.

The offense remains a work in progress, which is expected for a team with so many new pieces. Utah State still won by 34 points despite shooting well under 30% from 3-point range for most of the game and finishing 12 of 21 from the free-throw line.

The Aggies made up for it by finding easier ways to score.

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Utah State turned eight steals into 18 fast-break points and outscored Omaha 52-20 in the paint. Even when the half-court offense stalled, the Aggies created enough pressure defensively to keep the game moving in their direction.

Mason Falslev led all scorers with 22 points and 10 rebounds, adding a game-high seven assists and four steals in 33 minutes. Nine Utah State players scored.

For a team still finding its offensive rhythm, that balance matters.

Solomon Callaghan gives Aggies a needed 3-point threat

At 6-foot-2, Solomon Callaghan may be the smallest player in Jacobson’s early-season rotation. His potential impact, however, is anything but small.

The Wright State transfer gives Utah State something it lacked last season: a high-level perimeter shooter with a quick release and range that can stretch a defense well beyond the 3-point line.

Callaghan averaged 10.2 points last season as a sophomore while shooting 39.5% from deep, going 70-for-177 from beyond the arc. He made at least two 3-pointers 19 times, showing the kind of consistency Utah State needed to add to its backcourt.

In Jacobson’s fast-paced offense, built on cutting, ball movement and finding the right shot, Callaghan should have no shortage of clean looks. When he is in rhythm, he gives the Aggies one of their most dangerous offensive options.

That showed early against Omaha.

Utah State opened the game by making eight of its first 11 shots, including a pair of 3-pointers from Callaghan. His first came off a kick-out pass from Falslev. His second came in transition, when Omaha failed to locate him in transition.

The back-to-back threes sparked a 12-2 Utah State run and helped the Aggies build a double-digit lead against an Omaha team playing its second game in less than 20 hours after a Friday night blowout loss to BYU.

The Dallin to Solomon connection 🤌 https://t.co/7C6DtHMmU6

— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) November 7, 2026

Callaghan finished with 16 points and four made triples in his best game as an Aggie.

For a team still adjusting to a new coach, a new system and a rebuilt roster, Callaghan’s shooting gives the offense a simple but important advantage. Defenses have to find him early, chase him through movement and respect him several feet beyond the arc.

That spacing should make life easier for everyone else.

Utah State’s defense sets the tone as offense finds rhythm

Utah State needed less than 10 minutes to build its first double-digit lead against Omaha. How the Aggies got there may be the more important early-season takeaway.

The offense was efficient in stretches, but not always clean. Several possessions looked disjointed as Utah State continued adjusting to Jacobson’s system. During those uneven moments, the defense carried the Aggies.

Utah State pressured Omaha at every level.

𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐌𝐄 another Aggie 𝐃𝐔𝐁 🔵🤘 https://t.co/huGzCNPXwd

— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) November 7, 2026

A deep guard rotation featuring Falslev, Dallin Hall, transfer AJ Bates and redshirt freshman Brayden Boe — all listed at 6-foot-4 or taller — gives the Aggies size, length and versatility on the perimeter.

That group can bother opposing guards without constantly needing help behind it. And when ball-handlers did get downhill, Utah State’s frontcourt athleticism and length made clean looks difficult.

Former Snow College forward Sean Felts made his presence felt in the post, finishing with three of Utah State’s seven blocked shots in just seven minutes.

The one postgame complaint came from 15 Omaha offensive rebounds, an issue USU has already run into in their exhibition games and two early-season matchups.

“The one area that let us down was our defensive rebounding,” Jacobson observed. “As we’ve seen with our team, we’ve had stretches where we’ve rebounded great defensively, but we’ve already had too many stretches across the exhibitions and the two games we’ve played here where we have not rebounded well enough. We have to keep working at that.”

NOT. IN. SEAN’S. HOUSE. ❌ https://t.co/VTcOBH0NO4

— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) November 7, 2026

The Aggies also played with discipline and awareness. They rotated well, stayed active in passing lanes and turned Omaha’s possessions into rushed decisions.

That combination of size, pressure and basketball IQ gives Utah State the early makings of a high-level defensive team, even without big man Connor Turnbull, perhaps its best defender.

Utah State forced nine first-half turnovers and held Omaha to 8-of-31 shooting, or 25.8%, before halftime. That defensive effort allowed the Aggies’ offense time to settle in without forcing shots or chasing the game. The Mavericks ended the day with 15 giveaways and shot an anemic 29.2% from the field and 22.6% from deep.

That may be the most encouraging part of Utah State’s start.

The Aggies are not a finished product, and tougher tests are coming. The offense still needs time, the rotations are still taking shape, and the shooting will have to become more consistent.

But two games in, Utah State already has something real to build around. The Aggies can defend. They can run. They have more size and length than a season ago. And with Callaghan giving them a legitimate deep shooter, they have a piece that can change the spacing of an entire offense.

The competition will get better. So will the measuring stick.

For now, Jacobson’s first Utah State team looks dangerous for a reason.

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Utah State welcomes the Utah Tech Trailblazers into the Spectrum on Tuesday, November 10, for a 7 p.m. MT tip-off.

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Find USU’s 2026-27 schedule here.

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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, Instagram, and BlueSky at @bpreece24.

Parts of this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team.

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