Previewing Utah State’s NCAA Tournament First Round: UCLA Bruins
Mar 20, 2025, 3:24 PM
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MARCH 14: Aday Mara #15 of the UCLA Bruins is helped up off the court against the Wisconsin Badgers during the second half in the Big Ten men's basketball tournament quarterfinals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on March 14, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah State Aggies earned the sixth at-large NCAA Tournament bid, setting up a date with the UCLA Bruins, the epitome of college hoops blue-bloods.
Ten-seed Utah State (26-7, 15-5) opens the 2025 NCAA Tournament in Lexington, Kentucky, against the seven-seed UCLA Bruins (22-10, 13-7) on Thursday, March 20. Tip-off is at 7:25 p.m. MT. The winner advances to the Round of 32 and will take on the winner of No. 2 Tennessee vs. No. 15 Wofford on Saturday, March 22.
🚨 TIP TIME
📺 TNT
➡️ 7:25 PM MT#AggiesAllTheWay | @MarchMadnessMBB pic.twitter.com/4HGiZYmZFe— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) March 17, 2025
UCLA enters the tournament, averaging 74.8 points and allowing 65.7 points on the defensive end. The Aggies scored 80.9 points, with opponents scoring 70 points and night. Both teams have shown passing prowess as the Bruins dish out 16.3 assists compared to 17.4 assists for USU.
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Utah State guard Dexter Akanno’s former Oregon State teammate Tyler Bilodeau leads the Bruins with 13.6 points and is second with 4.5 boards a night. The 6’9 junior shot 49.7 percent from the floor and was a dead-eye 40.2 percent (35-of-87) from deep. Bilodeau reached double-figure scoring 22 times and topped the 20-point plateau four times.
Jesse Kurtz of the MWN and @USUBasketball’s broadcaster @ScottyGZone provide a preview of Utah State’s first-round matchup with UCLA in the 2025 NCAA tournament! pic.twitter.com/TjKZUylZVb
— Mountain West (@MountainWest) March 19, 2025
Eric Dailey Jr. (11.6) and Sebastian Mack (10) round out the Bruins double-digit scorers. Daily Jr. has been a sharpshooter in 2024-25, shooting 51.5 percent and 40 percent from three. Kobe Johnson stuffs the stat sheet, averaging 8.1 points, a team-high 5.9 rebounds, three assists, and 1.7 steals a night.
UCLA was third in the Big 10 this season, dishing out 16.3 assists while committing just 10.6 giveaways. The Bruins’ 1.54 assists-to-turnover ratio was third in the league. Defensively, UCLA created more than eight steals per game to lead the conference.
2025 NCAA Tournament First Round
No. 7 UCLA Bruins vs. No. 10 Utah State Aggies
DATE: Thursday, March 20
LOCATION: Lexington, Kentucky – Rupp Arena
TIP-OFF: 7:25 p.m. MT
TV: TNT
- Dish: 138
- DIRECTV: 245
- Xfinity: 39
Streaming:
On both platforms, you receive one hour of preview streaming time before you are required to sign into a provider.
RADIO: KSL Sports Zone
Following Utah State With KSL Sports Zone
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.
Listen to USU basketball games on KSL Sports Zone with Scott Garrard on the call.
Find KSL Sports coverage of Utah State University Athletics 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 and Instagram and BlueSky at @bpreece24.
