Utah State's men's basketball season concludes in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, losing to Arizona 78-66. Despite a strong season, the Aggies' hopes of reaching the Sweet 16 were dashed. Coach Jerrod Calhoun and players reflected on their accomplishments and the team's close bond.
SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Making it to the Sweet 16 will have to wait for the Aggies.For the 21st time after making the Big Dance, Utah State had its men's basketball season end before the second weekend. Top-seeded Arizona weathered a dryspell in the second half and pulled away for a 78-66 victory in front of 11,501 fans at Viejas Arena Sunday evening to advance in the NCAA Tournament in the West Region.
"Proud of our guys," USU head coach Jerrod Calhoun said. "All year long to do some of the things that this group was able to accomplish is not easy. One of the most connected teams I've ever been a part of, from our managers to our staff to our administration, to our players, the most important guys in the program, they truly loved one another, wearing the Aggie uniform, wearing the Utah State uniform truly meant something to these guys. I think you saw that in their fight the last seven, eight minutes, their refuse-to-lose mentality. But hats off to coach Lloyd and the Wildcats."There will be no Cinderella for the second straight year in the NCAA Tournament as the Aggies were the last mid-major team to be eliminated. USU was trying to get to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1970, after winning a first round game for the second time in three years."Obviously, it hurts right now to go back and look at everything you've accomplished just because I think we wanted that game pretty bad," Aggie guard Drake Allen said. "I think we know that you know we could have beat those guys if we would have maybe played a little bit better."But this group of guys right here next to me and the guys back in the locker room, we've accomplished so much. Just being so connected. The experiences on and off the court winning a conference championship, regular season championship and tournament championship at Utah State is something that I think that will be remembered for a very long time. We should keep our heads high. We should be proud of the year that we had, no matter what the way it ended, the way it went right here in this last game, we should hold our heads high and be proud."For the fourth time in five seasons Arizona has advanced to the Sweet 16. The Wildcats move on having won 11 in a row."Just really proud of our guys," Lloyd said. "Obviously, it's an important game. Season's on the line. These guys came out and got u
NCAA Tournament Utah State Aggies Arizona Wildcats Men's Basketball College Basketball
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