Utah State Basketball remains a basketball powerhouse in the Mountain West. Will they be able to pull off some upsets in the NCAA Tournament?
Utah State has been a hotbed for up-and-coming coaches to make the jump into the Power 5 ranks, and that is no different with Jerrod Calhoun, who has his team playing its best basketball at the perfect time.
How they got there:
Utah State basketball came off a round of 64 exit a season ago and came into the season with pretty high expectations to get back to the tournament as they were picked to finish second in the preseason polls in the Mountain West and returned a decent bit from a season ago led by guard Mason Falslev, who is the second leading scorer on the team and was named the Mountain West Player of the Year.
The team started out hot in the non-conference, with just one loss, and took home some hardware, winning the Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic – Lowcountry Bracket. The team’s only loss came at USF before Mountain West play.
The team entered the AP Poll for the first time in early January, and that was it after a loss to Grand Canyon on the road, but the team stayed the course and went on to win the Mountain West Regular Season Title.
A big part of this team is Vanderbilt transfer MJ Collins Jr., who leads the team in scoring at 17.6 PPG and had 40 points in a game in November.
General Information:
Team: Utah State
Location: Logan, UT
Record: 28-6 (15-5)
Head Coach: Jerrod Calhoun (2nd season with Utah State, 9th overall)
What to know about Utah State basketball:
Utah State is a pretty deep team led by a dynamic backcourt. They ranked in the top 45 in KenPom for both offensive and defensive efficiency.
“I think the seeding was absolutely atrocious,” said Calhoun on Selection Sunday.
Everything you need to know about Collins Jr., Falslev, and the Utah State Basketball team can be found by watching highlights of their Mountain West Tournament Championship game against San Diego State. Collins Jr. led the way with 20 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 assist in a 73-62 victory.
The strength of this team lies in their offense and averaging 82.5 PPG, and being a good three-point shooting team with 35% from deep.
The one knock on Utah State basketball is that it does not get too much production on its front court and is over-reliant on Falslev and Collins Jr. to carry the load.
The Aggies finished 13-5 in quadrant 1 and 2 games on the regular season, which has bolstered its resume in being a top nine seed in the tournament.
NCAA Tournament prediction for Arkansas basketball: Round of 32 exit
Seed: 9
This Utah State team is underseeded at 9 with a very good team, but its path with Arizona looming doesn’t bode well for a deep run.
Utah State has not reached the second weekend since the 1969-1970 season, but with tons of appearances this decade alone, its first game will not be easy against a championship-winning program like Villanova in game 1 in San Diego.
The X-factors of this team will be its front court for guys like Adlan Elamin, Zach Keller, Garry Clark, and Karson Templin to step it up on the stat sheet, whether if its on the glass, or scoring the ball inside to take pressure off the guards.
A round of 32 exit would seem like another successful season for the Aggies, who may also be on the head coach search, with Calhoun rumored to be heading back to his alma mater, Cincinnati. With the backcourt of Falslev and Collins Jr., those two guys will have to step up and carry this team if it wants to move on.