SAN DIEGO — Having not played a ranked opponent all season, Utah State enters Sunday’s second-round NCAA Tournament matchup against Arizona as a bit of a mystery.
No. 9 Utah State defeated No. 8 Villanova, 86-76, in the first round on Friday to set up the Round of 32 pairing, and the Aggies’ win over Villanova was their only occurrence of playing an opponent with a NET ranking in the top 40 all season.
“Before (Friday’s) game, I didn’t know too much,” Arizona center Motiejus Krivas said. “After they beat Villanova, watching the game, they for sure have a strong identity, playing physical, playing quick. And now preparing for them, we obviously know what they’re doing.”
Despite Arizona’s relative unfamiliarity with the Aggies before the tournament, Brayden Burries said the Wildcats have been treating their preparation for Utah State the same as they would for any other team.
“They’re in the tournament, so that means they’re a good team, so just gotta prepare how we prepare for any team,” Burries said.
Victors of five in a row, the Aggies (29-6) got to this point by winning the Mountain West regular-season and conference tournament titles.
An undersized group, Utah State starts three guards and does not have a player on its roster taller than 6-foot-10.
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With that comes its defensive rebounding deficiencies. The Aggies are 260th in the nation in defensive rebounding, averaging 21.5 per game.
In contrast, Arizona is a rebounding juggernaut and the matchup lends itself favorably for Arizona. The Wildcats are second in the nation in rebounding, averaging 42.8 per game, and senior forward Tobe Awaka leads the country in offensive rebounding percentage, via KenPom, a measure of the percentage of available rebounds a player grabs on their team’s missed shots.
“They’re a team that likes to play inside,” Awaka said about Utah State. “And they play super hard, super aggressive. They’re very poised. They have a few older guys on that team who have been around college basketball for a while.
“So I think it’s just about matching their energy. They’re well coached and very disciplined, and (so I think it’s about) just taking them out of their sets and just trying to make them feel uncomfortable.”
Arizona forward Tobe Awaka previews Sunday’s second-round matchup against Utah State. pic.twitter.com/V9y5tfEAtp
— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) March 21, 2026
The Wildcats could also be poised for another uncharacteristic 3-point barrage on Sunday, as Utah State is ranked 214th in the country in 3-point defense, allowing teams to shoot 34.4% on 22.9 attempts (178th in the country).
Tommy Lloyd’s Arizona team, known for working the high-low and getting to the rim instead of letting it fly from 3, ranks 358th in the country in 3-point attempts per game (16.2), but shot the 3 in abundance early on Friday, enabling the Wildcats to get off to a hot start.
Arizona took five 3-pointers in the first 6:39 vs. LIU, making four of them. But despite their low volume of 3-point attempts, the Wildcats make them at a solid rate (36.3%).
“Just keep doing what we’ve been doing the whole season. And we are (a) paint-oriented team that can make all the 3s when we kick out,” Krivas said about the keys to the game. “So just keep doing what we do.”
On offense, the Aggies like to play an uptempo brand of basketball by way of turning defense into offense. Utah State is top 25 in the country in forcing turnovers (13.9 per game).
“They create a lot of turnovers and transition points,” Arizona guard Jaden Bradley said. “They have some great players. They can shoot it, drive it. They mix in some presses, mix in a couple different defenses, so they try to throw you off and help you not try to find your rhythm.”
Utah State likes to uniquely change things up on defense, mixing in presses, zone and man-to-man defense, including showing a zone defense before going to man.
“I don’t know if we’ve seen one in particular quite like this,” Lloyd said of Utah State’s defensive tendencies. “Conceptually there could be some similarities. I think what they’ve done a really good job of is being able to change defenses and being able to mix in some presses, and kind of like get you out of your rhythm a little bit.
“To me, we’re going to have to get out there and get a feel for it on the court tomorrow on how we can get comfortable moving the ball and moving our bodies and playing against it. Obviously it’s got our full attention.”
Utah State coach has high praise for Arizona’s style of play
In terms of the preparation from a Utah State standpoint, Aggies coach Jerrod Calhoun said he is going to have to watch at least seven Arizona games, requiring 10 to 12 hours of work.
“I mean, if you’re really working at this thing. So you gotta get to your room,” Calhoun said. “So you could stay up and watch the tape and really dissect Arizona. It’s going to be a tremendous challenge.”
Calhoun also had high praise for Arizona, calling Lloyd one of the best coaches in the country.
“I love the way they play,” Calhoun said. “There’s very few college basketball teams I enjoy watching play. I would rather watch Europe or the Boston Celtics, to be honest with you. But Tommy’s probably one of the five teams I really enjoy watching.
“I think he creates a space for his players. He’s done a tremendous job playing big. It’s hard to do in today’s landscape. I think, their players really know how to play.”
Arizona and Utah State will tip at 4:50 p.m. on Sunday on truTV.
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