- Utah State won the Mountain West Tournament after defeating UNLV, Nevada San Diego State.
- Coach Jerrod Calhoun emphasized defense and points in the paint for their success.
- The Aggies await their NCAA Tournament seeding with strong momentum and confidence.
LAS VEGAS — In the final game of the regular season, Utah State toppled New Mexico 94-90 to claim the outright regular season championship.
Despite cutting down the nets in the Spectrum just minutes before, head coach Jerrod Calhoun was critical of the 90 points allowed by his defense.
"It's not a recipe to win in March," Calhoun said. "We've got to get back to our ways."
A week later, Calhoun was again ascending a ladder with scissors after winning a championship, this time in the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas after winning the Mountain West Tournament.
Utah State had returned to its winning ways, completing a three-game revenge tour of UNLV, Nevada and San Diego State, the only conference opponents to topple the Aggies in the regular season.
"Extremely proud of the toughness level that this group of guys came to Vegas with," Calhoun said. "We were not going to be bullied. We were going to be the bully."
In Utah State's losses this season, they've been pushed around by opposing teams on the interior and struggled to push opposing players off spots and into difficult positions and shots.
In the team's 28 wins, success has been marked by points in the paint, competing in the rebounding battle and forcing turnovers that lead to transition buckets.
In the three wins in Sin City, the Aggies competed on the glass while dominating in points in the paint and the turnover battle. In three tournament games, Utah State had a 126-82 advantage in points in the paint and a 62-21 advantage on points off turnovers.
"We looked at our regular season, and I think a lot of times we took bad shots or maybe didn't do the best offensive plays and let the other team get in good defensive plays," junior guard Mason Falslev said. "Everyone brought in and said, 'Look, we're not settling. We're going to get to the paint.'"
As the season went on, Utah State frequently became overly reliant upon the deep ball to open up the offense. When shots weren't falling, it allowed run-out transition points for the other team.
"It's a real simple formula: establish yourself in the paint," Calhoun said. "Whether it's a post up or a drive, get two feet in paint, collapse the defense and get the ball in the rim."
Despite the size of the Aztecs and physicality inside, Utah State dominated the paint in the title game, outscoring San Diego State 46-22.
"We don't have the physicality, the strength, but our guys had heart. Our guys had attention to detail," Calhoun said. "There's a process to win a game…Very, very proud of them taking the process of winning the game very serious and carrying out a great game plan."
The Aggies also outscored San Diego State 17-4 on points off turnovers in only six turnovers of their own.
"When we're able to turn teams over, it makes everything much better," senior guard MJ Collins Jr. said. "We get going, and it's like the defensive energy gets contagious, because we're just flying around and playing green."
When Utah State was reliant upon threes to score the ball, a low shooting percentage from deep was death's kiss. The Aggies did not shoot the ball particularly well in their tournament run, making just 30% from beyond the arc in three games and 25% in the semifinal and final.
Focusing on operating in the paint first allowed Utah State to score and maintain a lead even when threes weren't falling, eventually leading to clutch threes late in the game from Collins Jr. to ice the game.
"That's what he does. Whenever we need a big shot down the stretch, he was ready to take it," graduate guard Drake Allen said. "We're very confident in putting the ball in his hands and know that he's going to make big shots. He's been doing it all year."
As the Aggies await their NCAA Tournament destiny on Sunday, Calhoun feels good about the direction of his team after raising another trophy on Saturday.
"I'll be anxious to see what kind of seed, what kind of match up, but our guys will be ready," Calhoun said. "Momentum is a powerful thing. We have great momentum right now."
