LOGAN — Utah State got the opportunity to start its final run of Mountain West play with a statement as it hosted a 9-2 Colorado State team, the Rams being one of the hottest offensive teams in the nation.
Well, the Aggies didn’t so much make a statement as they did a full-on declaration — or perhaps a warning shot to the rest of the conferense — by crushing Colorado State 100-58 in Saturday’s mattinee in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. The 42-point win marked the largest ever margin of victory in the 87-year history of this series (110 total meetings).
The Rams, who walked onto the court as the 17th-best offense in the country according to KenPom (and held the top spot nationally in both field goal and 3-point percentage) started the game 0-for-7 as Utah State’s defense turned the screws as tight as possible from the very start. The Aggies had no such struggles on offense and jumped out to a 12-0 lead in the first four minutes of the game. Mason Falslev scored 12 of the Aggies’ first 14 points, hitting a pair of 3-pointers and a trio of layups.
It might only be noon, but it’s 𝑒𝓁𝑒𝒸𝓉𝓇𝒾𝒸 in the Spectrum ⚡️#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/3SKepfUQvE
— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) December 20, 2025
“I don’t think we’ve had a great start in any of our games. So it felt really good and hopefully we can continue to do it,” Falslev said.
Falslev took his first seat on the bench seven minutes into the contest and perhaps Colorado State hoped for something of a reprieve. Unfortunately for the Rams, and fortunately for the Aggies, MJ Collins took the scoring torch and scorched the nets with it. Collins scored 11 straight points for the Aggies (which also formed an 11-0 run). Falslev finished the game with a team-high 18 points, Collins followed closely behind with 15 himself.
MJ Collins Jr., ladies and gentlemen 🤯That’s a PERSONAL 11-0 run#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/rBUniKs7Xa
— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) December 20, 2025
Colorado State’s luck took a brutal turn for the worse even as Falslev and Collins were stacking points. Rams star forward Kyle Jorgensen suffered a knee injury as he fought for a rebound just four minutes into the game. He left the court, unable to put any weight on his right knee and returned to the bench late in the first half with the help of crutches.
“First of all, I hope (Jorgensen) is OK,” USU head coach Jerrod Calhoun said right at the start of his post-game comments. “He is, in my opinion, the most improved guys in the country. So things changed drastically gameplan-wise when he was out.”
Interestingly enough, Falslev and Collins would score all 23 of their first-half points before the 10-minute mark (partly because Collins went to the bench with two fouls with eight minutes to go before halftime). And yet, the Aggie lead grew once the scoring faucet of Falslev/Collins was shut off. Contributions from its main role players were a huge boost to the cause, led most prominantly (though not exclusively) by Drake Allen, Kolby King and true freshman Adlan Elamin.
The trio of Allen, King and Elamin combined for 37 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists. Allen set a season-high with three made 3-pointers and had 12 total points and six assists. Both King and Elamin nearly had double-doubles as the former had 10 points, nine boards and the latter set career highs in both points (15) and rebounds (eight). For Elamin especially, this performance marked a potential breakout as a true freshman making his third career start.
Calhoun referenced comments made by CBS Sports commentator and former NBA guard Darren Collison when speaking post-game about Elamin’s impact on the team.
“He’s just a difference-maker,” Calhoun said. “You see his length and size and his athleticism.”
“(Elamin is) a freak. That’s all I can explain,” Falslev said. “He’s capable of so many things and impacts the game in so many ways.”
NOT IN ADDY’S HOUSE ❌❌❌#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/LwUB5iHDdB
— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) December 20, 2025
With all of these great performances taking hold in the first half, the Aggies took a 21-point lead into halftime. But that kind of lead would hardly be safe against a lethal offense like Colorado State’s. And then there’s precedent, with Utah State having led Colorado State by 15 points at halftime in last year’s game at the Spectrum, only to be forced to hold off a furious rally by the Rams who scored 55 points in the second half of that game back in February (and then followed that up with two blowout wins over the Aggies in March).
In fact, the seeds of a potential rally by the Rams was already being set. In the final four minutes of the first half, the visitors shaved down a 28-point deficit to a 21-point hole. So when Utah State went to halftime on Saturday with a dominant lead, both players and coaches knew the job was far from finished. On top of that, the numbers-concience staff are fully aware of how much better a blowout over a good team looks than just a decent or close win.
“When you blow teams out, your numbers look great. So our guys know, like, we need to beat everybody we can. If we have a lead, we can’t call anything off. You know, that’s the way the analytics world works.
Whether fueld by a knowledge of the numbers or by getting dominated across 2.5 games against Colorado State last year, Utah State came out of halftime with as much fire as it did to start the game. No mercy was to be had, even in garbage time as the lead reached its peak, 45 points, with 30 seconds left in the game.
The payoff in those metrics for a 42-point win is already being seen. Pre-game, the Aggies were 40th in KenPom and jumped to 29th after the contest went final. It’s the first time the team has been in the 20s in that ranking since its dominant showing in the Charleston Classic (got as high as 24th).
Utah State will now have a significant break before its next game which will be at Fresno State on Dec. 30. Many of the players will leave town to be with their families for Christmas, with a return to practice set to take place on Dec. 26.
