NCAAB

Utah State Aggies at UCLA Bruins

· Men's Basketball Championship - Midwest Region - 1st Round
26-8, 7-4 Away
Final
47 - 72
23-10, 15-2 Home

UCLA rolls to another first-round March Madness win, 72-47 over Utah State

Tyler Bilodeau sinks a deep 3-pointer

Aday Mara, a 7-foot-3 reserve center, added 10 points for coach Mick Cronin's Bruins (23-10), who will face second-seeded Tennessee on Saturday in the Midwest Region as they seek their fourth Sweet 16 appearance in the past five editions of March Madness. The Volunteers also cruised to an easy win, 77-62 over Wofford.

Mason Falslev scored 17 points and Deyton Albury had 12 for Utah State (26-8), which reached its third consecutive NCAA Tournament — this time under Jarrod Calhoun, the Aggies' third coach in that span.

UCLA broke the game open by holding the Mountain West school to just two free throws in a 12-2 run for a 39-27 halftime advantage. Then the Bruins had a 17-7 surge early in the second half to build a 20-point lead.

The Bruins finished at 48% from the field after shooting 55% in the first half. They made 10 of 24 3-pointers, eight of 10 players scored, and they had 22 assists on 26 baskets.

“The guys just did a great job,” Cronin said. “And it helped us to have three days because against a matchup zone defense you have to score on passing and cutting. You can’t dribble your way into it. They’re going to steal the ball. So guys just did a great job.”

Utah State shot 30% while committing 11 turnovers, leading to 20 UCLA points.

“I thought in the first half, they made shots,” Calhoun said. “So much this time of year is about shot-making, right? And when you don’t make shots, it affects your defense.”

Maintaining the status quo Calhoun, a West Virginia assistant under Bob Huggins, has been mentioned as a possible candidate for the Mountaineers' coaching vacancy. He didn't address that speculation and said only that he had been “offered a tremendous opportunity” by Utah State athletic director Diana Sabau and the staff “over the last really 24 hours,” without being specific.

“I think Utah State can win a national championship,” he said, following earlier comments noting the school raising $1 million for name, image and likeness payments to athletes. “I wouldn’t say that if I didn’t believe it.”

Picking up the slack UCLA guard Sebastian Mack left midway through the second half with what Cronin said was a groin injury. The Bruins were safely ahead by then but stayed aggressive to put away an offense that ranked 14th in the country in shooting at nearly 49%.

“If you just let them come back in the game, they will,” Clark said. “And so just doing everything we could to try to get them out of rhythm and not let them run their offense, that was the key.”

Takeaways Utah State: The Aggies outscored UCLA 17-10 in second-chance points, 28-22 in the paint and 16-9 on the break. None of that could offset 4-of-31 3-point shooting.

UCLA: The Bruins won their 12th of 16 games by making sure everybody was involved. Dylan Andrews had eight assists and eight points, while Kobe Johnson also scored eight. UCLA edged Utah State 38-35 on the glass, including 29-19 advantage on the defensive end.

Up next UCLA will face Tennessee for just the second time and more than 48 years after beating the Vols 103-89 in Atlanta under Gene Bartow. Cronin wasn't totally happy with the Bruins' effort but added, “We’ve been preparing all year to play Saturday.”

How can I watch Utah State vs. UCLA?

  • TV Channel: Utah State at UCLA 2021 College Basketball, week 1, is broadcasted on TNT.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo Free trial.
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Recent Plays

2nd 0:00 End of Game 47 - 72
2nd 0:00 End of 2nd half 47 - 72
2nd 0:25 Trent Perry Steal. 47 - 72
2nd 0:25 Dexter Akanno Turnover. 47 - 72
2nd 0:51 Aday Mara made Free Throw. 47 - 72

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/328.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originUSU https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/26.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originUCLA
18-60 FG 26-54
30.0 Field Goal % 48.1
4-31 3PT 10-24
12.9 Three Point % 41.7
7-10 FT 10-10
70.0 Free Throw % 100.0
35 Rebounds 38
16 Offensive Rebounds 9
19 Defensive Rebounds 29
9 Assists 22
6 Steals 6
2 Blocks 7
11 Turnovers 9
0 Team Turnovers 0
11 Total Turnovers 9
0 Technical Fouls 0
0 Total Technical Fouls 0
0 Flagrant Fouls 0
10 Points Off Turnovers 20
16 Fast Break Points 9
28 Points in Paint 22
11 Fouls 11
3 Largest Lead 26

Game Information

Rupp Arena

Location: Lexington, KY
Attendance: 16,258 | Capacity:

2024-25 Mountain West Conference Standings

TEAM CONF GB OVER
New Mexico 17-3 - 27-8
Colorado State 16-4 1 26-10
Utah State 15-5 2 26-8
Boise State 14-6 3 26-10
San Diego State 14-6 3 21-10
UNLV 11-9 6 18-15
Nevada 8-12 9 17-16
San José State 7-13 10 15-20
Wyoming 5-15 12 12-20
Fresno State 2-18 15 6-26
Air Force 1-19 16 4-28

2024-25 Big Ten Conference Standings

TEAM CONF GB OVER
Michigan State 17-3 - 30-7
Maryland 14-6 3 27-9
Michigan 14-6 3 27-10
Wisconsin 13-7 4 27-10
UCLA 13-7 4 23-11
Purdue 13-7 4 24-12
Oregon 12-8 5 25-10
Illinois 12-8 5 22-13
Indiana 10-10 7 19-13
Ohio State 9-11 8 17-15
Rutgers 8-12 9 15-17
Nebraska 7-13 10 19-14
Northwestern 7-13 10 17-16
Iowa 7-13 10 17-16
USC 7-13 10 17-17
Minnesota 7-13 10 15-17
Penn State 6-14 11 16-15
Washington 4-16 13 13-18
Full Standings