Utah State to face UCLA in NCAA tournament first round

With a taxing week in Las Vegas for the Mountain West Men’s Basketball Championships behind them, Utah State Men’s Basketball anxiously awaited their NCAA tournament fate on Marh 16. The team gathered on the third floor of Maverik Stadium with assorted friends and family to watch the tournament Selection Show.

The watch party waited through two bracket regions while seeing the selection of conference foes New Mexico and San Diego State. Finally, after several nervous glances were exchanged, Utah State’s name was called.

The No. 10-seeded Aggies will play No. 7-seeded UCLA in Lexington, Kentucky, on March 20 at 7:25 p.m. MST.

In Jerrod Calhoun’s first season at the helm, Utah State will travel to Lexington and take on UCLA on Thursday in the 7/10 game. pic.twitter.com/qqPXkTIv8X

— Mark D. Greenwood (@md_greenwood) March 16, 2025

With the selection, Utah State advances to its third straight NCAA tournament and sixth in the last seven years.

“Really, really happy for the players. There’s a lot that goes into a college basketball season. This journey started for us in April when we got this team together, and we certainly earned our way throughout the course of this season,” Utah State head coach Jerrod Calhoun said after the selection. “Very pleased with the seed … We’re playing one of the most, probably the most storied basketball program in the history of college basketball in one of the most historic venues in Rupp Arena. So, pretty neat experience for our group.”

The Aggies qualify for the tournament in Calhoun’s first season as head coach, making them just the second program ever to advance to three straight NCAA tournaments with three different non-interim head coaches.

“It’s the expectation here at Utah State. We’re trying to take that next step to get to a Sweet 16 or a Final Four,” Calhoun said. “Our conference tournament took a toll on us having those night games with the preparation, so we all need to get to the tape and start watching the Bruins.”

The Aggies are a No. 10 seed for the fourth time in their tournament history. The squad was most recently a No. 10 seed in 2023 where they fell to Missouri 76-65 in the first round. USU earned a No. 8 seed last year and defeated the No. 9 seed TCU 88-72 before falling to national runner-up Purdue 106-67 in the second round.

Their opponent UCLA is 22-10 this season and finished No. 4 in its first year in the Big 10 Conference. Similar to the Aggies, the Bruins have gone through a recent stretch of turbulence, posting just a 4-4 record in their last eight games heading into the tournament.

“I’ve watched them probably play eight, nine times. Kind of strange seeing them in the Big 10. I’ve watched them a lot in the PAC-12. I thought their Final Four run a couple of years ago was incredible,” Calhoun said. “Mick [Cronin] does a great job. His teams are really, really physical. They’re tough. The tenacity they play on both sides of the ball is very real. So, ball security will be critical, and we’re going to need to try to speed them up as well and force tempo.”

In addition to their recent struggles, UCLA has only two wins and three losses in neutral site games this year. Conversely, Utah State is 4-1 on neutral courts on the season.

UCLA is led by junior forward Tyler Bilodeau, a transfer from Oregon State and former teammate of Aggie guard Dexter Akanno. Bilodeau averaged 13.6 points and 4.5 rebounds per game for the Bruins in 31 games.

Utah State’s third tournament appearance in as many years means multiple players already have experience playing in the tournament.

“I’ve been incredibly blessed. This is my third time going to the NCAA tournament. I didn’t play the first time. I was redshirting, but last year it was awesome. And even my redshirt year was an awesome opportunity to learn and to just be a part of a moment like that,” said sophomore guard Mason Falslev. “I’m excited. I think with every experience like this, you get a little bit more comfortable — you get comfortable being on the court. So, I’m looking forward to that too.”

Mason Falslev talks about heading to his third NCAA tournament during a press conference after the team’s watch party in the West Stadium Center of the Maverik Stadium on March 16. (Kelly Winter/The Utah Statesman)

USU has four other players with tournament experience in addition to Falslev in Ian Martinez, Aubin Gateretse, Isaac Johnson and Karson Templin.

Both Martinez and Johnson had a big game for the Aggies in last year’s win over TCU, leading the team with 21 points and 19 points, respectively.

“I try not to think about the games of the past. Like I said, I think these are the times that we all play for since coming together in May and June. This is some of these guys’ dreams. I’ve been to the tournament before, but some of these guys haven’t,” Martinez said. “You should always be confident. We’ve just got to go out there and have fun. It’s teams that we haven’t played before, but we’ve just got to go out there and be us. I think people have seen what we can do when we’re just us and we’re locked in the game.”

Calhoun echoed Martinez’s message to the team.

“There’s going to be a winner and a loser. We’ve got nothing to lose. Let it rip, man,” Calhoun said. “If you’re open, shoot it. Play as hard as you possibly can. Understand you could lose the game. Don’t be afraid to fail. I tell those guys that all the time.”

Though Calhoun is no stranger to the tournament, this is his first appearance in the Big Dance as a head coach. Calhoun was an assistant coach at West Virginia where they advanced to the 2008 Sweet 16 and 2010 Final Four.

As a head coach, Calhoun started at Division II Fairmont State where he led the team to four Division II NCAA Tournaments, including a national runner-up finish in 2017.

At the Division I level, Calhoun spent the previous seven seasons at the helm of Youngstown State in the Horizon League, where only the conference tournament champion advances to the NCAA tournament.

Head coach Jerrod Calhoun high fives Pavle Stosic after finding out the team’s seeding in the NCAA tournament during a Selection Show watch party. (Kelly Winter/The Utah Statesman)

“For me personally, it’s been a long journey,” Calhoun said. “I’ve been in the one-bid leagues for seven years. There are a lot of great coaches that don’t get this opportunity. Can’t take things for granted. You’ve got to be in the moment. You’ve got to live in the moment.”

The tournament starts with the First Four in Dayton, Ohio on March 18 with the round of 64 starting on Thursday morning. The Aggies will tip off against the Bruins at approximately 7:25 p.m. MST on Thursday, and the winner will advance to play either Tennessee or Wofford.