LAS VEGAS – Behind 20 points from Tournament MVP MJ Collins Jr., top seeded Utah State won the 2026 Mountain West Postseason Championship with a 73-62 victory over second-seeded San Diego State. It is the Aggies third MW postseason title in the last eight years and the 11th in program history.
Collins was joined on the All-Tournament team by graduate guard Drake Allen and junior guard Mason Falslev.
Utah State (28-6) becomes just the seventh program in Mountain West history to win both the league's regular season and postseason titles. The Aggies posted its 28th win of the season for the seventh time in program history and for the second time in the last three years.
With the win, Utah State earns the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. It will be USU's fourth-straight trip to the Big Dance, which is a school record. USU has now advanced to the NCAA Tournament 26 times in school history, including 14 times since the turn of the century. This year marks the sixth time in the last eight years that USU has played in the NCAA Tournament and seventh time in the last eight years that it has advanced to the Big Dance as the Aggies qualified for the 2020 NCAA Tournament that was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Collins finished the game with 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting, including 4-of-10 from 3-point range. Falslev added 16 points to go along with six assists, and four rebounds and Allen had 13 points and six rebounds. Senior forward Garry Clark was USU's fourth double-figure score as he posted 11 points to go along with six rebounds.
The turning point in the game came at the 5:13 mark of the second half. Utah State held a slim 58-54 advantage when Collins hit a 3-pointer and senior forward Zach Keller was fouled on the play. Keller connected on both free throws for a five-point play to give the Aggies a 63-54 lead. Freshman forward Adlan Elamin scored via a dunk on USU's next possession to push its lead to 11 points. The Aztecs never got closer than eight points for the remainder of the game as it posted the 11-point win.
Utah State finished the game shooting 46.2 percent (30-of-65), including 28.6 percent (6-of-21) from 3-point range, and was 7-of-13 (.538) from the free throw line. USU had 18 assists and just six turnovers in the game.
Reese Dixon-Waters led San Diego State with 20 points as the Aztecs shot 40.8 percent (20-of-49), including 31.3 percent (5-of-16) from 3-point range, and was 17-of-24 (.708) from the charity stripe.
Utah State had a fast start as it made five of its first six field goals to build an 11-6 advantage. The Aztecs responded with a 7-0 run for a two-point lead. USU regained control of the game and took its largest lead of the half at 25-19 following a three-point play from senior forward Garry Clark. USU held that six-point advantage until back-to-back 3-pointers from the Aztecs tied the game at 32-32 with 5:04 to play. Following a layup from Falslev, SDSU closed the half with a free throw and second-chance basket following an offensive rebound to take a 35-34 lead into the locker room. USU closed the half by making one of its final 10 field goal attempts.
Collins led Utah State with 10 points in the first half as the Aggies shot 41.2 percent (14-of-34), including 21.4 percent (3-of-14) from 3-point range, and 60.0 percent (3-of-5) at the free throw line.
Dixon-Waters had 12 points for San Diego State as the Aztecs shot 44.0 percent (11-of-25), including 42.9 percent (3-of-7) from behind the arc, and 71.4 percent (10-of-14) at the charity stripe.
NEXT UP
With the victory, Utah State earns an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. The Aggies will find out their seed and matchup on Selection Sunday at 4 p.m. (MT), on March 15. The selection show will be televised by CBS.
Utah State will host a watch party for the NCAA Tournament Selection Show inside the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. Doors for the event will open at 3:30. The event is free and open to the public and media.
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