Utah State to play in program record fourth-straight NCAA Tournament

After a 28-6 combined regular season and conference tournament campaign, Utah State University is dancing in the NCAA tournament for a program record fourth-straight season. The Aggies, under second-year head coach Jerrod Calhoun, have now qualified for the tournament in seven of the last eight seasons. 

“It’s really neat to get texts from Danny [Sprinkle] and Craig [Smith] and all those guys. When you sit in the chair, it’s a great deal of pressure,” Calhoun said. “There’s a legacy here. Sam Merrill has hit me today. He loves the Aggies. Just the support and the tradition here is tremendous.” 

The lone season in the last eight years that USU hasn’t qualified was Ryan Odom’s first season in Logan in the 2021-22 season. Additionally, the Aggies qualified in 2020 but did not play due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

During that stretch, Utah State is 1-5 in the tournament, with the only win coming in an 88-72 victory over Texas Christian University during the 2023-24 season. 

Utah State won both the Mountain West Conference regular season championship and tournament championship for the first time in school history in its final year in the conference. The Aggies won each of their last four games on their way to two conference titles and are hoping to see similar results. 

“We had an edge. We won three games in three days. Having an edge is playing every possession possession by possession. Whether it’s on offense, defense, coming out of a timeout,” Calhoun said. “We’ve got to do all those things, and it starts in your prep.” 

In Calhoun’s first season, the Aggies fell in a lopsided game against the University of California, Los Angeles in the first round. This year, with additional returning players, Calhoun is hoping that experience takes over in a way it couldn’t a year ago. 

“I think a lot of these teams — as you watch them, they get anxious, whether it’s shooting the ball or just playing in general,” Calhoun said. “There’s a lot of hoopla with the NCAA tournament — rightfully so. It’s the greatest tournament on earth. But our guys have played in this environment before.” 

Headlining the Aggie players who have been dancing before is junior guard Mason Falslev. Falslev has been a part of each of the previous four NCAA tournament appearances, playing in three and attending once as a redshirt freshman. 

The Aggies also have six players, not including redshirt freshmen, who have never been on an NCAA tournament team. 

“I’ve been fortunate to be a part of this tournament four times. I’d just say, ‘Enjoy it. Soak up every moment,’” Falslev said. “You don’t know if you have another chance. Not a lot of people can say they’ve played in March Madness. Just give it all you’ve got and leave it all on the court.” 

Despite the lopsided NCAA tournament record in recent years, the Aggies are hoping to make the most of their stay in San Diego. 

“I think we all know what it felt like losing in the first round last year. It’s not a great feeling,” guard Drake Allen said. “We know the goal of this team was to make it here. Now that we’ve made it, we have a goal of winning a couple of games, and we truly believe that we can do that.”