Three thoughts after Utah State beats Villanova in NCAA tournament opener
Mar 20, 2026, 6:36 PM
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 20: Adlan Elamin #35 of the Utah State Aggies reacts during the first half against the Villanova Wildcats in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Viejas Arena at San Diego State University on March 20, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
(Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah State Aggies withstood a tremendous Villanova team, closed on a 15-3 run to earn a berth in the 2026 NCAA tournament Round of 32 following an 86-76 victory.
Mason Falslev and MJ Collins Jr. did the heavy lifting by combining for 32 second-half points in a magical win for USU and Cache Valley, but it was a full team effort that lifted the Aggies into the weekend.
Utah State advances to the Round of 32, where it will face the No. 1 seed in the West Region, the Arizona Wildcats, on Sunday, March 22.
RELATED: Utah State takes down Villanova, to face Arizona on Sunday
.@USUBasketball players were fired up after advancing to the Round of 32.
Head Coach Jerrod Calhoun and Guard Mason Falslev caught up with @LaurenShehadi after the big win. pic.twitter.com/P4keYaQqgK
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) March 20, 2026
Falslev fought through nagging injuries to register a team-high 22 points, seven rebounds, and dish out four assists. Collins Jr. added 20 points and four rebounds.
Freshman Adlan Elamin added 13 points, seven rebounds, and three assists in his breakout game on a national stage.
The win improves Utah State to 2-0 all-time against Villanova and 10-8 against Big East opponents. USU is now 8-27 all-time in the NCAA tournament and advances to the Round of 32 for the second time in the past three seasons.
Find the full 2026 NCAA Tournament bracket here.
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USU closes on an offensive heater
Trailing four midway through the second half and doing anything they could to create momentum, Kolby King had a shot rim out. Utah State would only miss two more shots the rest of the game as they closed on a 32-16 run in the final 12:51.
The Aggies executed their offense precisely, drawing fouls or creating good looks as they clamped down on Villanova defensively.
Utah State puts the pedal down in the final three minutes to knock off ninth-seeded @NovaMBB 86-76.
The Aggies advance to face the Arizona Wildcats in the Round of 32 on Sunday. #Aggiesallthewaypic.twitter.com/H1J1rE3DtM
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) March 20, 2026
Asked what allowed his team to pull away down the stretch, Collins Jr. pointed to the defense.
“We weren’t making threes, so we knew we had to rely on our defense,” he said. “That’s what we’re known for, getting our offense off our defense. We switched up a couple of coverages late in the game, and it kind of messed them up.”
Aggies show tremendous resilience in win over Villanova
Jerrod Calhoun’s group looked like the better team for much of the first half, but a late run allowed Villanova to take momentum and a 39-37 lead into the halftime locker room.
After the Wildcats opened the second half on a 12-1 run, extending their lead to 10, USU could have wilted.
“That was very uncharacteristic for us,” Calhoun said of the slow second-half start. “As coaches, if we hit the panic button, our players would too. They stayed the course, and we kept chopping it down… I give our guys a lot of credit.”
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Instead, Mason Falslev and MJ Collins went to work. The duo combined to score ten straight points when their team needed a boost.
Villanova kept pushing, knocking down repeated three-pointers on their way to 14 made triples and a (+36) from the perimeter.
Rather than press their advantage, Calhoun felt Villanova began relying on one-on-one matchups rather than continuing to move the basketball. “That was a crucial adjustment throughout the last seven minutes,” he stated.
Drake Allen➡️Adlan Elamin
It’s the freshman’s world, and we’re just living in it! 😎
1H | 3:13@USUBasketball 33@NovaMBB 36pic.twitter.com/YVhGgYRM3g
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) March 20, 2026
In the end, USU weathered nine ties and 12 lead changes to earn the win.
USU outscored Villanova 49-37 in the final 20 minutes while making 18-of-23 free throw attempts.
Utah State finished the day 28-of-36 from the charity stripe.
Adlan Elamin is an X-factor for USU
The 6’9″, 185-pound athlete has been up and down all season, exactly as should be expected of an under-the-radar freshman like Elamin.
When the Arlington, Virginia native puts it all together, his athleticism explodes off the screen.
Three-point shooting is the difference as Villanova leads by 2️⃣ while making 14-of-29 shots from deep.
The Aggies are (-36) from the perimeter. #aggiesalltheway #marchmadness
2H | 3:54@USUBasketball 71@NovaMBB 73pic.twitter.com/RqKwfqspN0
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) March 20, 2026
Elamin had multiple stretches on Friday when he was the best player on the floor.
He used his freakish length to swallow opponents defensively and had multiple highlight reel scoring plays.
“That was really just me feeding off our defense and the energy from the rest of the guys, and the guys finding me in the right spot,” Elamin said after the win. “I was just trying to run the floor as hard as I can.”
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He finished with 13 points in a spectacular all-around performance against the Wildcats, his 11th double-digit game of the year.
If Calhoun can keep putting Elamin in advantageous matchups, he has the ability to play above the rim in a way no other Aggie offers.
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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.
