No. 8 seed Villanova eager to take next step vs. No. 9 Utah State
No. 8 seed Villanova eager to take next step vs. No. 9 Utah State
Field Level MediaThu, March 19, 2026 at 5:07 PM UTC
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Mar 12, 2026; New York, NY, USA; Villanova Wildcats head coach Kevin Willard coaches against the Georgetown Hoyas during the first half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images (Brad Penner-Imagn Images)
SAN DIEGO -- Friday's West Region matchup between eighth-seeded Villanova and ninth-seeded Utah State features teams with similar statistical profiles.
It also features programs with much different NCAA Tournament histories.
For Villanova (24-8), a winner of national championships in 2016 and 2018, Friday marks its return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2022 team advanced to the Final Four.
The end of its three-year drought also marks the first time a Villanova team coached by someone other than Jay Wright has advanced to the NCAA Tournament since the Steve Lappas-led Wildcats of 1998-99.
"It's a really big first step," Wildcats head coach Kevin Willard said of getting Villanova back into the tourney. "When you take over a job with this much history, as I tell the players, [the focus is to] get back to a winning program ... every year, [the NCAA Tournament] is expected."
Utah State (28-6), meanwhile, is playing in its fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament and fifth since 2021. However, Jerrod Calhoun is the only Aggies head coach during this stretch to have overseen more than one of Utah State's squads in the tournament.
The post has been a revolving door with Craig Smith exiting for Utah following the 2020-21 season; successor Ryan Odom, now at Virginia, departing for VCU in 2023; and Danny Sprinkle exiting for Washington following the 2023-24 campaign.
Sprinkle's lone season with the Aggies culminated in Utah State winning an NCAA Tournament game for the first time since 2001, which occurred in another No. 8 vs. No. 9 matchup against TCU.
Despite their differing postseason histories, the current Utah State and Villanova squads share similarities that Calhoun detailed on KSL Sports radio on Tuesday.
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"A lot of the stuff we do was really created at Villanova, as far as the way we run our program," said Calhoun, who played for the late, longtime Wildcats coach Rollie Massimino from 2001-03 while playing at Cleveland State.
Willard also employs a matchup-zone defense inspired by his father, who also inspired the staff at Utah State.
Both squads' version of the scheme thrives on turnovers. The Aggies force takeaways on 20.6 percent of opponent possessions, the 16th-highest rate nationally, per KenPom.com metrics.
The Wildcats create turnovers on 18.7 percent of opponent possessions, 62nd-most in Division I basketball.
Freshman Acaden Lewis is a driving force for Villanova's turnover-generation, averaging almost two steals per game. Lewis also is a catalyst for the Wildcats offense with 12.3 points and 5.3 assists per game.
Mason Falslev fulfills a similar two-way role for Utah State, swiping two steals a contest while scoring 16.1 points and dishing out 3.1 assists per game.
Falsleve's backcourt mate, MJ Collins, leads the Aggies at 17.6 points per game and connects on 2.3 shots from 3-point range per contest.
Villanova, which averages 9.6 made 3-pointers an outing, features a pair of sharpshooters making at least two a game with Bryce Lindsay and Tyler Perkins.
--Kyle Kensing, Field Level Media
Source: “AOL Sports”
