Previewing Utah State’s Mountain West semifinal opponent: Nevada Wolfpack
Mar 12, 2026, 7:47 PM
Utah State freshman forward Adlan Elamin battles through traffic in an Aggie win over Nevada at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Wednesday, January 14, 2026. (USU Athletics, Arpan Bose)
(USU Athletics, Arpan Bose)
LAS VEGAS, Nevada – It’ll be the top-seed Utah State Aggies taking on Nevada in the first of two Mountain West Championships semifinal games.
The Aggies (26-6, 15-5) fight for NCAA Tournament positioning and definitive conference supremacy against No. 5 Nevada (23-11, 12-8) at the Thomas & Mack Center.
RELATED: Third time the charm for Aggies against UNLV in MW quarterfinals
🏀 #MWMBB Highlights from #1 @USUBasketball‘s 80-60 win over #8 UNLV in the quarterfinals of the Credit Union 1 MW Men’s Basketball Championship #MWMBB | #MWMadness pic.twitter.com/nTJdz9iXWy
— Mountain West (@MountainWest) March 12, 2026
Nevada advanced to the MW semifinals after knocking off No. 4 Grand Canyon in an 84-80 back-and-forth battle.
The Aggies and Wolfpack tip off at 7:30 p.m. MT on Friday, March 13.
Nevada gets the win over Grand Canyon.
It will be Utah State and Nevada tomorrow in the MWC Semi’s. Tip-off at 7:30, pregame at 7:00 on @kslsports
— Scott Garrard (@ScottyGZone) March 13, 2026
Aggies reach semifinals by blowing out UNLV
Utah State found another gear defensively against a UNLV team that had already beaten them twice in 2026, dismantling the Runnin’ Rebels in an 80-60 win.
Mountain West Player of the Year Mason Falslev exploded for 17 points and five rebounds in the first half as the Aggies built a 12-point halftime lead.
𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙣 🤘 pic.twitter.com/5MsG2kdETK
— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) March 12, 2026
He played through a nagging left knee injury to finish with game-highs in points (24) and boards (nine), while adding three steals.
MJ Collins Jr. added 20 points and three takeaways. Kolby King and Garry Clark combined for 14 points off the bench.
First Quarterfinal MWN Old Trapper Postgame Show of day two 🏀
Karlie Drew with #1 @USUBasketball MW Player of the Year, Mason Falslev after posting 24 points for the Aggies & MW Coach of the Year, Jerrod Calhoun after defeating #8 UNLV#MWMBB pic.twitter.com/g4KZMQwdzw
— Mountain West (@MountainWest) March 12, 2026
USU forced 19 turnovers, scoring 23 points off giveaways. Four Aggies had two or more steals.
MW leading-scorer Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn finished with an inefficient 17 points on 6-of-19 shooting. He led the Rebels with six turnovers while playing all 40 minutes.
𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐍𝐎 𝐃𝐎𝐔𝐁𝐓 😤#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/3PKHTQc2zH
— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) March 12, 2026
Kimani Hamilton and Howie Fleming Jr. both fouled out against a relentless Aggie offensive attack.
Utah State improved to 3-0 over the Rebels in the MW tournament and 20-10 overall in MW postseason play.
RELATED STORIES
Tale of the tape
USU and Nevada split the season series 1-1, with each team winning on its home floor.
In mid-January, Nevada traveled to Logan and suffered a 71-62 loss, with Mason Falslev scoring 26 points, grabbing five rebounds, dishing three assists, and swiping two steals over 39 minutes.
The then-23rd-ranked Aggies limited Nevada to 34 percent shooting and forced 14 turnovers.
RELATED: No. 23 Utah State Pulls Away From Nevada With Late Surge
.@USUBasketball ADVANCES IN THE @MountainWest TOURNAMENT! pic.twitter.com/zF4xzFpgvE
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) March 12, 2026
The Wolfpack evened the score with an 80-77 victory at the Lawlor Events Center on February 21, 2026.
Nevada closed on a 15-6 run to steal the game.
Drake Allen’s 17 points led the Aggies, followed by 16 points and six rebounds from Kolby King.
MJ Collins Jr played just 21 minutes, scoring nine points.
About the Nevada Wolfpack
Former New Mexico head coach Steve Alford leads fifth-ranked Nevada in his seventh season with the Wolfpack.
Alford has piloted his team to the second-best scoring defense in the MW at 70.1 PPG and a middle-of-the-pack finish in the regular season.
🏀 #MWMBB Highlights from #5 @NevadaHoops‘s 84-80 upset win over #4 Grand Canyon in the quarterfinals of the Credit Union 1 MW Men’s Basketball Championship #MWMBB | #MWMadness pic.twitter.com/ey9YNJ8zW4
— Mountain West (@MountainWest) March 13, 2026
Sharp-shooting Corey Camper Jr. leads Nevada at 17.4 PPG.
The graduate senior guard averages nearly 2.5 three-pointers per game while shooting better than 42 percent from deep and 47 percent overall.
6’9″ redshirt sophomore Elijah Price has been one of the league’s best defenders, averaging 8.4 rebounds and is second in the MW with 1.8 blocks a night. His 13 PGG are second on the team.
Follow Utah State basketball with KSL Sports
Find Utah State’s entire 2025-26 men’s basketball schedule here.
Take us with you wherever you go.
Listen to USU basketball games on KSL Sports Zone with Scott Garrard and former Aggie great Spencer Nelson on the call.
Find KSL Sports coverage of Utah State University Athletics here.
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.
