Mason Falslev is a Utah legend.
Utah State’s leader on the court grew up in Benson, Utah, and played at Sky View High, which is six miles from Utah State’s campus.
Falslev was a dominant basketball and football player in high school. He was a two-time Utah 4A State MVP in basketball and was also the state MVP in football in 2019.
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He chose basketball in college, even though he also had scholarship offers for football, but he wasn’t heading to Utah State after high school. In 2018, Falslev committed to the University of Utah, but he flipped to Utah State in 2021 while serving a mission for the Church of Latter-Day Saints in Brazil and joined the Aggies in 2022-23.
Three years later, Falslev and the Aggies are one win shy of their first appearance in the Sweet 16 since 1970. Ninth-seeded Utah State takes on No. 1 Arizona in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Viejas Arena in San Diego on Sunday.
Falslev racked up 22 points and seven rebounds to lead Utah State (29-6) in a 86-76 win over No. 8 Villanova on Friday. It was the 10th time this season that he scored at least 20 points in a game.
The 6-foot-4 junior was named Mountain West Player of the Year after ranking No. 7 in the league with 16.2 points a game and leading the Aggies with 5.8 rebounds. He ranks No. 2 on the team with 67 steals and has 109 assists on his resume. Falslev is tied with teammate Drake Allen with a Mountain West-high two steals a game.
Falslev wasn’t the only hero in the Aggies’ third first-round NCAA Tournament win since 2009. Vanderbilt transfer MJ Collins Jr. put the Aggies on his back and sparked a 13-3 run that clinched the win in the final three minutes of regulation.
Collins gave Utah State a five-point lead with a layup and a free throw with a little less than 3:00 to play. He collected a turnover and finished at the rim a few minutes later and snagged a steal before finishing with a dunk to give the Aggies a 10-point lead with 1:13 to play.
Collins scored seven of his 20 points in the game’s final 3:00. He leads the Aggies and ranks No. 4 in the Mountain West with 17.7 points a game.
Arizona (33-2) has won 10-straight games, including a 79-74 win over Houston in the Big 12 Tournament championship and a 92-58 victory over Long Island in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday.
The Wildcats lead the Big 12 with 86.3 points a game and a .502 team field goal percentage. Five players average at least 10 points a game, led by two of the best freshmen in the country. Six-foot-4 guard Brayden Burries leads the team with 16 points and averages 4.7 rebounds a game. Six-foot-8 forward Koa Peat is adding 13.7 points and 5.4 rebounds a night.
Arizona is also one of the top rebounding teams in the country. It ranks No. 4 in the nation with 42.5 a game. Six-foot-8, 250-pound forward Tobe Awaka leads the team with 9.5 rebounds a game, while 7-2 center Motiejus Krivas is collecting eight a game and leads the team with 66 blocked shots.
Arizona vs. Utah State Odds
Arizona is an 11.5-point college basketball betting odds favorite on BetMGM as of this writing, and the Over/Under is at 156.5 points.
The Moneyline is at -800 for the Wildcats and +550 for Utah State.
Arizona vs. Utah State On TV
The second-round NCAA Tournament game featuring No. 9 Utah State and No. 1 Arizona will be televised on TruTV.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7:50 p.m. ET.
Arizona vs. Utah State Prediction
I predict Arizona wins 86-74.
Utah State has one of the most experienced backcourts in the Mountain West and one of the deepest rosters in the conference. Both of those things will keep the Aggies in this game for a half, but the Wildcats will pull away late.
Arizona has elite scorers at every level, and it is, by far, the best rebounding team Utah State has faced all season. Awaka, Krivas, and Peat may be the best trio of rim protectors in the country. They’ve combined for 784 rebounds and 1,134 points this season. Awaka leads the trio with 331 rebounds. Peat leads the group with 437 points.
