During a media timeout in the first half of Utah State’s eventual 86-76 victory over Villanova, TNT’s broadcast team pulled aside Wildcats head coach Kevin Willard to get an update from him on the game. Sideline reporter Lauren Shehadi asked Willard about the at-the-time 16 points in the paint the Aggies had scored and the first-year Villanova coach gave a terse response. “I’m gonna fire my staff,” Willard said. “We’ve given up eight points on underneath out-of-bounds defense. The only thing I’m gonna do is fire them and get a new staff.” “I’m gonna fire my staff. Yeah, I am … The only thing I’m gonna do is fire them and get a new staff.” – Villanova coach Kevin Willard to @LaurenShehadi 🤣 pic.twitter.com/6PdSBKa72z — CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) March 20, 2026 Willard repeated that sentiment after the game when asked about the team’s struggles on those plays. Though when a follow-up about those comments and the TV interview, which had gone viral on social media and drawn widespread criticism, Willard said it was meant as a joke. “Welcome to my life. It (was) a joke,” Willard said. Jokes about the employment status of Villanova’s assistants aside, Willard

SAN DIEGO — After going 22 years without a single NCAA Tournament win, the Utah State Aggies have won two within a three-year span thanks to its Friday-afternoon 86-76 victory over Villanova. The victory took a historic level of effort from the Aggies, who had to withstand one of the most intense 3-point barrages put forth in this year’s tournament. Villanova hit 14 triples, their third-most in a game this season and tied for second-most by any team in March Madness so far in 2026. The most 3-pointers Utah State had allowed in a single NCAA Tournament game all-time was nine. That tally occurring in a 39-point blowout suffered at the hands of the eventual national runner-up Purdue Boilermakers. At seemingly every turn, Villanova’s absurd 3-point shooting volume curbed Utah State’s attempts to seize control of the game. The Aggies opened up a 22-13 lead eight minutes into the game, 19 of those points coming in the paint or as a result of shooting fouls inside the key.  .@USUBasketball IS PUTTING ON A SHOW IN SAN DIEGO. pic.twitter.com/HRkD8BjLhY — CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) March 20, 2026 Utah State needed to rely on that paint dominance as it made only two

SAN DIEGO — The unrelenting ride toward March has finally reached its first official stage. Utah State’s men’s basketball team arrived in San Diego earlier this week, memories of holding two Mountain West championship trophies fresh in their minds. Source link