By the numbers: Utah State downs Villanova, prepares for Arizona
From 1971 to 2023, Utah State won just two NCAA tournament games. Now, in the three seasons from 2024-2026, the Aggies have won two NCAA tournament games, toppling TCU in 2024 and Villanova on Friday afternoon.
Against the Wildcats, Utah State had its worst shooting day from three in over two seasons, hitting just two triples on 16 attempts to shoot 12.5%. Nonetheless, the Aggies controlled and even dominated other areas of the game to advance to the round of 32 on Sunday.
Here’s a look at Utah State’s win over Villanova by the numbers and how they fare against top-seeded Arizona on Sunday.
Two-point efficiency & points in the paint:
Despite only shooting 12.5% from three, the Aggies shot an impressive 55% from the field, making 79% of their shots from inside the arc, the highest percentage this season. Conversely, Villanova shot only 42% from inside the arc but made an impressive 47% of threes.
“I think that was really just us moving without the ball really well, just having good spacing,” freshman Adlan Elamin said. “We just kind of stuck to our principles offensively, things that we harp on practice, and we found success in that.”
Kolby King drives inside against Villanova in the NCAA tournament first round on Friday.
Arizona cruised to a 92-58 victory over Long Island University on Friday to advance to take on Utah State. The Wildcats shot similarly to Utah State, shooting 53% from the field, though hitting six threes on 13 attempts.
The Aggies willed themselves to victory by controlling the interior against Villanova, overcoming Villanova’s 14 threes to pull away in the final four minutes. Utah State was incredibly efficient from two-point range and dominated Villanova inside, outscoring them 42-26 in the paint.
Similarly, Arizona outscored LIU 50-26 in the paint, using its size and physicality to bully the Sharks.
“Every team has different challenges. The challenge with these guys is their size,” head coach Jerrod Calhoun said. “We need MJ [Collins] and Mason [Falslev] and Drake [Allen] and all these guys, we’ve got to use our quickness against their size.”
Briggs Rober Garry Clark shoots over a Villanova defender in the NCAA tournament first round on Friday.
The Aggies have struggled this season against size on the interior, something Arizona has in abundance. For USU to put up a fight against the region’s top dog, it will have to continue to play efficient basketball inside and score the ball in the paint.
“They’re a very big and physical team. Our job is to match that,” forward Zach Keller said. “And they’re obviously a top-five rebounding team that’s on our plate as well.”
Rebounds:
As mentioned by Keller, Arizona is one of the best rebounding teams in the country. The Wildcats outrebounded LIU 36-19 on Friday.
Similarly, Utah State outrebounded Villanova 37-27 in its win, moving to 16-1 on the season when it outrebounds the opponent and 34-2 in two years under Calhoun.
Briggs Rober Zach Keller addresses the media on Saturday prior to a second round matchup against Arizona.
“The number one thing is taking care of the basketball, being able to rebound the basketball,” Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd said. “That will allow you to do those to push the pace.”
While Utah State probably can’t expect to win the rebounding battle against Arizona, competing on the glass and limiting second-chance opportunities for the Wildcats will be important to Aggie success.
Points off turnovers and fast break points:
Utah State has thrived this year on forcing turnovers and getting fast break points, both giving the Aggies easy buckets and limiting the opponents’ possessions. Against Villanova, USU won both battles, outscoring the Wildcats 18-9 on points off turnovers and 14-2 on fast break points.
These are areas that Arizona did not dominate in its win on Friday, scoring only seven points off turnovers and nine fast-break points. The Wildcats did, however, limit LIU to only eight and six points, respectively.
“Do our principles, be in the gaps when we need to be in the gaps,” forward Garry Clark said. “Coach has been stressing we need to force turnovers, so that will be big for us.”
Briggs Rober Garry Clark addresses the media on Saturday prior to a second-round matchup against Arizona.
When getting into a half-court game, Arizona holds the advantage in nearly every way on both sides of the ball. Forcing turnovers and getting up the floor in a hurry is a way USU can overcome that, as forcing turnovers limits Arizona’s offense and getting fast break points negates the Wildcat defense.
“It’s a 40-minute game. I think there’s going to be so much made of Arizona – rightfully so. But we have 29 wins for a reason. I think our guys need to understand that,” Calhoun said. “The teams that are successful this time of year have an identity. We have a true identity on both sides.”
Briggs Rober MJ Collins Jr. celebrates after a dunk in the final minutes of the NCAA tournament first round.
Utah State’s defensive identity is getting deflections, forcing turnovers and capitalizing on them. Arizona is the top seed in the West region and is a national title favorite. Possibly the biggest key to Utah State’s Sweet 16 hopes will be turning the Wildcats over and getting easy points.