LEXINGTON, KY — History repeated itself on Thursday night in Utah State’s 72-47 loss to UCLA in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Back in 2001, the Aggies lost by 25 points, 75-50, in the second round of the Big Dance in what was the second-worst offensive performance in an NCAA Tournament game in program history (lowest is 39 points in 1939). On Thursday, Utah State lost by 25 points yet again and set a new low for tournament game points in the modern era. The opening minutes seemed to promise the energetic and highly effective USU team that was featured for much of the 26-win season. But the energy just simply didn’t last and an offense that ranked 17th in the country according to KenPom adjusted efficiency couldn’t get off the ground. Utah State made just 4 of 31 threes (12.9 percent), which is the third-worst 3-point shooting performance in team history (minimum 20 attempts), and that awful night seemed to doom the team more than most other issues that cropped up. “(UCLA) did a good job of pressuring us,” USU guard Mason Falslev said. “It’s hard to make threes when you’re rushed and they just didn’t fall, unfortunately,

Five of the 11 Mountain West men’s basketball teams will feature at some level in postseason tournament. Four — New Mexico, Utah State, San Diego State and Colorado State — will appear in the main event, the NCAA Tournament, with Boise State joining the 16-strong field of the inaugural College Basketball Crown and San Jose State going to the NIT. For those rooting for the Mountain West, maybe don’t look at the numbers behind how well its done in recent years. Since 2016, MW schools are 4-15 in the first round. Even worse, the MW teams that earned double-digit seeds are 1-24 all-time in the first round, including 22 consecutive defeats. All four schools that made the NCAA Tournament have double-digit seeds. The numbers in the First Four aren’t much better as the Mountain West is 1-5 in Dayton, though perhaps the winds are shifting as the first victory came just last year when Colorado State defeated Virginia. Here is a quick rundown on when, where and who each team is facing in their respective postseason runs, listed in chronological order. NCAA Tournament Teams San Diego State (11 seed)  Opponent: 11-seed North Carolina Date/Time: Tuesday / 7:10 p.m. TV: TNT Venue: UD Arena /

Utah State saw its name drawn for the 2025 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, earning a seven seed in the Midwest section of the bracket and a matchup with 10-seed UCLA set for Thursday in Lexington, Kentucky. It’s the Aggies’ third straight appearance in the tournament — each under a different head coach — and is the fifth time in the previous six NCAA Tournaments they’ve been included. There was no guarantee that Utah State would be picked in the tournament, even though every single bracketologist on record had the Aggies in the field of 68. And there was some nervousness building in the room of USU’s watch party as the South and East sections of the brackets were revealed. But as the Midwest section was unfurled on TV, head coach Jerrod Calhoun provided some encouragement and a prediction. “It’s always scary when it gets down to the last couple brackets,” USU guard Mason Falslev said of watching the selection show. “But Coach [Calhoun] came and he was just like, ‘I think we’re going to be 7-10.’” Calhoun turned out to be exactly right as the Aggies were soon after shown on the screen. The scene from Utah State’s watch party

LAS VEGAS — As the Mountain West tournament semifinal game between Utah State and Colorado State crossed under seven minutes to play, the HURD began a mid-game edition of its popular “I believe” chant. At the time, the Aggies were trailing the Rams big, having faced a deficit as large as 28 points. Whether out of misguided hope, or an attempt to manifest something in a game that had gone horribly wrong, the Spectrum on Wheels was trying to get its team to salvage something in the Thomas & Mack Center. The win, to the dismay of the hopeful fans, did not materialize. Colorado State would claim an 83-72 victory and a spot in the title game against Boise State. But in the defeat, the Aggies still salvaged some of their pride by cutting the nearly 30-point hole down to seven points in the final minutes of the game. Runs of 16-1 and 9-1 had the Aggie fans believing, it just didn’t end up being enough. “Every huddle, we just said, ‘We can do it, we got plenty of time,’” USU point guard Jordy Barnes said. “We were just trying to fight back and play as hard as we could, and