After the Utah State men’s basketball team managed to pull away from a back-and-forth battle during the game’s final five minutes, the Villanova Wildcats fell, 86-76, to the Aggies. The loss concludes Villanova’s season and short-lived return to the March Madness tournament.
“We got up 10, and we gave up three offensive rebounds,” Villanova head coach Kevin Willard said about the game’s final minutes. “Give them credit. They’re a veteran team, older guards. They did a great job getting in the lane, but we had our opportunities. We missed 73-71. I think we were up and we missed two layups that really hurt us…they capitalized on it.”
Villanova drew 14 fouls during the course of the game’s 40 minutes, handing 37 free throws to Utah State. Utah State made 75.7% of its free throws attempts, marking 28 of its 86 total points earned at the free throw line.
Redshirt sophomore guard Bryce Lindsay led the court with 25 points. His scoring performance falls only two points short of his season-high, 27 points, which he tallied against Sacred Heart in November.
“It wasn’t enough,” Lindsay said about his performance. “I feel like we should have gotten that dub…I was trying to give it all for our seniors Duke [Brennan] and Devin [Askew].”
Junior guard Tyler Perkins and senior forward Duke Brennan followed on the scoresheet, tallying 15 points each.
Junior guard Mason Falslev led the Aggies, scoring 22 points. Senior guard MJ Collins Jr. followed with 20 points.
Villanova went 28-for-63 (44%) on field goal attempts, 14-for-30 (47%) on three-pointers and 6-for-13 (46%) at the free throw line. In comparison, Utah State went 28-for-51 (55%) on field goal attempts, 2-for-16 (13%) on three-pointers and 28-for-37 (76%) at the free throw line.
Following tip off, Falslev opened up the scoresheet for the Aggies.
Utah State quickly found its momentum, succeeding on fast-paced transitions and selflessness in the paint.
In the half’s opening eight minutes, the Aggies tallied seven assists.
Utah State found its largest lead of the half, 22-13, with 12:14 left before halftime.
The Aggies relentless drop cover defense forced Villanova to shoot from beyond the arc. By the ninth minute of play 10 of Villanova’s 25 total shots had already been taken from beyond the arc.
With 9:43 left in the first half, Malachi Palmer found back-to-back three-pointers, chipping away at the Wildcats’ deficit. Brennan then found a layup and offensive rebound, before Lewis made a three-pointer, followed by a Perkins shot from beyond the arc to tie the game, 31-31.
With five minutes remaining in the half, Lindsay secured a layup, completing a 9-0 Wildcat scoring run. The two points gave the Wildcats their first lead of the game, 33-31.
Lindsay made two of his four first half three-pointers to rally the wildcat offense. By the end of the first half he led the ‘Cats, scoring 14 points.
Though Utah State scored nearly 50% of first half field goal attempts, three-pointers were the difference for the ‘Cats, giving Villanova the two point advantage, 39-37, going into intermission.
Coming out of the half, the ‘Cats maintained control.
Perkins, Brennan and Palmer aided a 9-0 scoring run over 1:28 to give the ‘Cats a ten point advantage, their largest margin of victory during the game, over Utah State, 48-38.
Following a Utah State timeout, the Aggies managed to go on a 10-3 scoring run to cut their deficit to three points, 53-50.
With 14:14 remaining in the game, graduate guard Drake Allen stole the ball and converted a layup to tie the game, 54-54.
Falslev found Utah State’s first lead of the half, 59-58, with just under seven minutes left in the game.
The teams continued to trade leads until a series of Villanova fouls let Utah State pull ahead, 78-73, with 2:53 remaining.
Energy of Utah state fans who had made the 800 mile journey to Viejas Arena filled the stadium as Villanova committed two more turnovers in the game’s final minutes, ending the game 86-76.
The match up concludes the Villanova men’s basketball 2025-26 season.
“There weren’t a lot of expectations early in the year. A lot of people were talking down about them. I think they were way beyond what everyone thought they were going to be,” Willard said when asked about what he wants people to remember about the 2025-26 roster. “This group was one of the best I’ve ever had coaching. I looked forward to getting to practice every day.I looked forward to games every day. They were a really good group, and I think they represented the university at a very high level.”
Following the national championship game, the NCAA transfer portal will reopen on April 6, subjecting possible additions and departures to and from the program.
