r/CollegeBasketball • u/cbbBot /r/CollegeBasketball • NCAA • Mar 21 '25
Post Game Thread [Post Game Thread] UCLA defeats Utah State, 72-47
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u/suzukigun4life North Texas Mean Green • Sickos Mar 21 '25
Utah State with a whopping 0 points in the final 5:14 of the game.
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u/Zloggt Illinois Fighting Illini • Missouri Tigers Mar 21 '25
And they ended up scoring less than what they did against Purdue last year...
...tough turn of events...
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u/Noy_Telinu UCLA Bruins • Notre Dame Fighting Irish Mar 21 '25
I just hope Mara is healthy
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Mar 21 '25
Cautiously optimistic that he is, was in there at the end of the game a little. Also depends which Tennessee shows up, might be a good game
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u/Dirk_Benedict UCLA Bruins Mar 21 '25
Just need a healthy Mara and a little bit of early foul trouble for our other bigs so Mick is forced to play him and we may have a shot.
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u/leftygwaggies13 Utah State Aggies Mar 21 '25
Bro is already a beast. Crazy to think how good he could be next year.
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u/mukduk1994 UCLA Bruins Mar 21 '25
God that UT/UCLA matchup might be the best uniform combo of the entire tourney
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u/ramfisher UCLA Bruins Mar 21 '25
Great call, can we petition in time for both teams to wear their road jerseys?
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u/865wx Tennessee Volunteers Mar 21 '25
I'll put in a request on our end.
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u/Alexis_Ohanion Mar 21 '25
Always enjoy seeing great uniforms on college sports teams, and the Vols have some good ones!
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u/Duougle UCLA Bruins Mar 21 '25
The one good thing about being a lower seed is we get to wear our blue jerseys. Just such a classic look.
I think they should change the rule so the higher seed gets to pick their jersey color.
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u/DHVF Rutgers Scarlet Knights • Duke Blue Devils Mar 21 '25
Nah, I like seeing all the mid-majors getting to wear their better, more colorful jerseys.
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u/FooI0fATook UCLA Bruins Mar 21 '25
DA been getting crap all year but he had a great game today
hope he can keep it up against Zeigler
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u/otoverstoverpt UCLA Bruins • North Carolina Tar Heels Mar 21 '25
honestly he has deserved most of the criticism for on the court play but he seems like a great kid and i’m really happy for him
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u/FooI0fATook UCLA Bruins Mar 21 '25
oh yeah i’m not saying he didn’t deserve it cus he 100% did but now’s the perfect time to turn it around. good for him
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Mar 21 '25
Everyone will clown the MWC for this but Utah State was just a team with too good a resume to leave out that metrics hated and they lost to a better higher seed
I think New Mexico and Colorado State are the better teams. Hopefully one gets a win
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u/Dhylan18 Utah State Aggies Mar 21 '25
Both USU and San Diego State had a really good 2024.
The seams started to unravel in 2025
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Mar 21 '25
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u/provoaggie Utah State Aggies • Utah Valley Wolver… Mar 21 '25
Don't tell UNM fans but you're right. Going into the MW Tourney CSU and Boise were the 2 that were playing the best and as soon as I got to Vegas I put my money on CSU winning it all.
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u/Mordo-NM New Mexico Lobos Mar 21 '25
Hey, you get no argument from me, anyway. The Rams have been flat out on fire. Over the last 15, they're 13-2 and we're 12-3 (so was Boise). We swept them, but I wouldn't want to play them again.
History has me prepared for another round of disappointment tomorrow, but who knows? At least our defense is stout and we don't rely on the 3 hardly at all; much more on transition buckets and points in the paint.
Funny, Pitino Jr. said as soon as the UNM/MARQ matchup was announced, his dad started texting him a scouting report. He's like, dad, I watched all 3 of your wins over them, I've got a pretty good idea. lmao
And we played St. John's pretty close. Lost by 14, but were within 4 very late. So, we'll probably lose by 50 tomorrow! Actually, that would be a shocker. No one blew us out this year. Our 7 losses were by 14 (SJU), 3, 6, 1, 8, 8, 3.
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u/provoaggie Utah State Aggies • Utah Valley Wolver… Mar 21 '25
I'll be cheering for you guys and CSU to play well. Don't need the entire conference playing like shit.
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u/Mordo-NM New Mexico Lobos Mar 21 '25
I appreciate it! I'm gonna say the Blind Squirrel Theory means CSU or us will actually have a good game.
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u/mac-0 San Diego State Aztecs Mar 21 '25
Fans of schools with $30m media contracts get so triggered that a conference with $3m media contracts gets a few 7-11 seeds each year
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Mar 21 '25
Everyone was pissed about 14 bid SEC and now complains about MW teams getting in.
Not sure who exactly they want in this tournament
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Mar 21 '25
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u/HectorReinTharja Oakland Golden Grizzlies Mar 21 '25
Whyre they seeded like they are do you think ?
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u/_bag24 San Diego State Aztecs • Villanova … Mar 21 '25
Yeah it’s not like the mountain west has a bunch of top seeds and loses every year. Pretty much always a worse seed not expected to do much. Still underperform heavily except SDSU sometimes but the tournament is the least consistent playoffs in sports basically so it’s not shocking random shit happens
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u/A-Centrifugal-Force Mar 21 '25
This. Also worth noting that Utah State has had 3 different head coaches the last 3 seasons. Just getting to the tournament all 3 seasons with that kind of turnover every year is impressive in itself. Can’t always make a run.
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u/Wrong-Examination800 UCLA Bruins Mar 21 '25
That zone defense only helped ucla. Also helped that Utah state couldn’t buy one.
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u/George297 UCLA Bruins Mar 21 '25
Suck it, Obama. Go Bruins.
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u/nstutzman28 UCLA Bruins Mar 21 '25
Bro consistently disrespects UCLA in his brackets. Only exception is this year's women's bracket where he has us losing in the natty to the team we've already blown out
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u/Dirk_Benedict UCLA Bruins Mar 21 '25
What do you expect? He's a private school kid. His allegiance is to the California University Condors. Let him enjoy his loser schools.
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u/thegreyjackalope Utah State Aggies • Belmont Bruins Mar 21 '25
Oh damn I didn’t know Obama picked us. Would have saved me a few hours of my life knowing that usu would lose
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u/puzdawg Gustavus Adolphus Golden Gusties Mar 21 '25
I swear he picks against the Bruins every time!
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u/ArmVanDam Illinois State Redbirds • Virgi… Mar 21 '25
this could've been an email
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u/Aidanj927 Texas Tech Red Raiders Mar 21 '25
The entire day could’ve been an email
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u/deadassynwa Buffalo Bulls Mar 21 '25
Am I crazy for picking ucla to make the elite 8
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u/otoverstoverpt UCLA Bruins • North Carolina Tar Heels Mar 21 '25
It’s not insane but it is unlikely. I think if we manage to beat Tennessee I like our chances against UK/Xav/Illinois.
We have beaten some very good teams this year and frankly we’re under-seeded and slept on a bit. That said, Tennessee wins this matchup 3/4 of the time so we need some luck.
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u/Zorak9379 Illinois Fighting Illini • Stanford Cardi… Mar 21 '25
I would love another Illinois-UCLA matchup
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u/wattatime Mar 21 '25
I pick ucla and Houston in the final 4 every year. Man did my bracket cook in 2021. Some times the homer picks make you a genius.
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u/Jumpy_Permission8752 Mar 21 '25
If you’re using this game for your reasoning, then yes. The loss was on USU. UCLA didn’t really play all that well.
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u/Jekena UCLA Bruins Mar 21 '25
UCLA definitely played well. I wouldn’t bet on them playing well for two more games though.
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u/Paper_Rain /r/CollegeBasketball Mar 21 '25
UCLA vs. Tennessee is going to be a physical war on Saturday.
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u/DtotheJG Utah State Aggies Mar 21 '25
Can we just keep our coach this time..maybe build some consistency in that area
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u/igniteshield UCLA Bruins • Rutgers Scarlet Knights Mar 21 '25
Picking the mountain west (other than SDSU) to lose is free money every year
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u/sitnkick20 Villanova Wildcats Mar 21 '25
Do we tell him what happened to the Aztecs?
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u/igniteshield UCLA Bruins • Rutgers Scarlet Knights Mar 21 '25
I mean I’d argue them losing in the first four is atypical for them…. (Or maybe they’re just regressing to the MWC mean)
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u/Mordo-NM New Mexico Lobos Mar 21 '25
They lost a LOT from last year that wasn't replaced with equivalent talent.
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u/danhoang1 UConn Huskies • Santa Clara Broncos Mar 21 '25
They're playing #6 Ole Miss tomorrow. Trust me I remember picking Ole Miss vs them when I filled my bracket Tuesday
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u/account051 UCLA Bruins Mar 21 '25
It’s maddening how good our sets are against zone and how bad our sets are against man
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u/AtlasInElysium North Carolina Tar Heels Mar 21 '25
I actually don’t mind the MW getting 4+ bids each year. Picking against them are some of the only points my bracket gets.
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u/danhoang1 UConn Huskies • Santa Clara Broncos Mar 21 '25
Same. I picked #6 Ole Miss to beat the #11 SDSU team tomorrow (that 11 seed definitely getting crushed because they are mountain west), fingers crossed!
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u/Mordo-NM New Mexico Lobos Mar 21 '25
We're here for ya!
Well, some of us anyway. Maybe after all the traitors leave for the PAC-STATE, the MWC fortunes will improve. They've been dragging us down! lol
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u/IanSoffos420blzit UCLA Bruins Mar 21 '25
UCLA was disrespected coming into this despite our depth and Q1 wins. I think folks just saw the Wisconsin game score and didn’t bother to look any further. Wisconsin could not miss from 3 that game. This was a much better representation of what UCLA can do any given night
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u/dont_ask_my_cab Maryland Terrapins Mar 21 '25
Honestly wondering if I picked USU because I felt sorry for their coaching woes.
Was that loss rough or a strange relief at this point for you all?
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Mar 21 '25
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u/dont_ask_my_cab Maryland Terrapins Mar 21 '25
Yeah I couldn't tell if some of the dejection in the game thread was unsurprised or the exact opposite (painful shock)
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u/thegreyjackalope Utah State Aggies • Belmont Bruins Mar 21 '25
Definitely unsurprised. Take out our 2024 half of the season and we would not be in the tourney
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u/PuzzleheadedLion2205 Colorado State Rams • Florida Gators Mar 21 '25
Anyone upset with the MW rn did not watch the end of SDSUs and USUs season
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u/halldaylong UCLA Bruins Mar 21 '25
Not the quickest start but got it together. Hope everyone rests up tomorrow
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u/witchy12 Michigan State Spartans • Northe… Mar 21 '25
Every single year the MWC is the devil on my shoulder whispering in my ear: “This is the year the MWC will get some first round upsets!” and it never fucking happens.
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u/JBru_92 UCLA Bruins Mar 21 '25
The margin was mostly due to USU being ice cold from 3 but I had a good feeling going in.
Btw it looks like Saturday is only the second UCLA-Tennessee matchup ever?
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u/Dirk_Benedict UCLA Bruins Mar 21 '25
That's funny, considering how many times we've played each other in football.
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u/JarodR747 Utah State Aggies Mar 21 '25
Gotta be our worst 3 point shooting night I have witnessed in the last 4 years of watching every game. We need to get rid of the zone defense. Hopefully Calhoun sticks around
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u/Hickory-Lime16 Utah State Aggies Mar 21 '25
It was a fun season. Calhoun said in his post game that he was honestly somewhat surprised that we won 26 games given that we had next to no size or production on the block.
I get why the MWC gets a lot of hate because we consistently lose in the tournament, but I also just don’t know what the solution is. The big dance is what everyone plays for, and it’s exciting because every school has a chance to make it. I just don’t think it is as exciting for mid majors during the season if every at large bid goes to power 4 teams.
I’m obviously biased… just my thoughts though
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u/Ravensfan967 South Carolina Gamecocks • Utah Sta… Mar 21 '25
As a fan of a mid major and a power conference team, I agree. Parity is good for the sport and just making it a B10/SEC invitational ruins the magic of March. This Aggie team fell off a cliff once we made it clear the recipe to beat us. We have no big men worth a damn, our zone defense creates open 3 looks, and Ian Martinez also just died towards the end of the year.
We need a portal big man and to keep Faslev. I have a feeling Falslev could be headed to BYU.
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u/IpeeEhh_Phanatic Kentucky Wildcats Mar 21 '25
I was told to pick Utah State as an upset.
I'm dousing my bracket before the second day of round 1
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u/keylime503 UCLA Bruins Mar 21 '25
Told by who? Seth Davis the known ucla hater because ucla didn’t admit him?
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u/DaoDeDickinson Gonzaga Bulldogs Mar 21 '25
San Diego State... blown out. Utah State... blown out... perfect time for Saint Mary's to finally go on a tourney run before Gonzaga leaves... if they get by Vandy... wait we could have an SEC game in the round of 32 with Vanderbilt and Alabama? I would so love for Saint Mary's to finally actually successfully through one of their road spike strategies against a top 10 offense in the tournament.
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u/Epicallytossed Minnesota Golden Gophers • Kansas Jayhawks Mar 21 '25
why does everyone convince themselves about the mountain west being good every year
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Mar 21 '25
You lost too bud
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u/Epicallytossed Minnesota Golden Gophers • Kansas Jayhawks Mar 21 '25
I’m a mavericks fan this doesn’t hurt me at all
i’m numb to pain
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u/hillko00 Northwestern Wildcats • WashU Bears Mar 21 '25
I somehow let my underestimation of UCLA win out against MWC shitting the bed in March. Valuable lesson. Never bet against the Mountain West losing in the tourney
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u/Maximum-Jury9065 Mar 21 '25
Mountain West at it again..0-2 with both losses by 25 or more. Can't we just relegate them to be a 1 bid league for a few years?
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Mar 21 '25
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u/Maximum-Jury9065 Mar 21 '25
Yeah I'm saying this as someone who's a MWC fan and alum. I don't understand it, we consistently perform better in November and December against good teams than we do in March. Besides SDSU (until this year).
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u/Mordo-NM New Mexico Lobos Mar 21 '25
It is weird. I have no explanation. Everyone ragging on SDSU, but they beat frickin' Houston and Creighton. But USU & SDSU did not exactly come in hot.
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u/Mordo-NM New Mexico Lobos Mar 21 '25 edited Mar 21 '25
Once you & the other traitors leave, it will be a 1-bid for sure.
EDIT: Guess my implied /s whooshed someone.
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Mar 21 '25
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u/AL3XD North Carolina Tar Heels • Virginia … Mar 21 '25
"The Mountain West might be better than the ACC" by January 1 at the latest
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Mar 21 '25
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u/AL3XD North Carolina Tar Heels • Virginia … Mar 22 '25
Someone said he is employed by the network with exclusive rights to the MWC. Makes sense based on his takes
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Mar 21 '25
I refuse to cheer for the rest of these Mtn West bums and thoroughly enjoyed that beat down LOL
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u/Mordo-NM New Mexico Lobos Mar 21 '25
Hey, that's Mister Bum to you, bub!
I gotta admit, I thoroughly enjoyed Clemson getting punked. When we lost to them last year because we were ice cold, everyone was like, "mmmyeah, maybe you were cold because the Clemson defense was just too good for you." I guess the McNeese defense was just out of their league this year, eh?
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u/ToeSuckingFiend Xavier Musketeers Mar 21 '25
Same shit different year. Average loss margin of 26 through 2 games playing a 7 and an 11.
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u/Same_Apricot8955 Virginia Cavaliers • Colorado State … Mar 21 '25
Utah State and SDSU not making the MW proud
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u/haterich San Diego State Aztecs Mar 21 '25
If it’s any consolation, see you guys in Cancun soon my fellow Mountain Wack Conference bros!