The nation watched another mid-major shake up the March Madness bracket Friday. Utah State basketball flipped a speedy switch to wear down No. 8 seed Villanova 86-76 in San Diego. USU head coach Jerrod Calhoun, however, doesn't call it an upset.
He calls the victory part of the Aggies' “revenge tour.”
Why is the “R” word on the mind of the Mountain West Conference champions? Is it because of past NCAA Tournament failures?
The revenge mission has nothing to do with the string of pre-Sweet 16 exits for this established mid-major power.
Why Utah State's ‘revenge tour' has commenced
Calhoun explained the retribution edge with ClutchPoints after taking down the Big East powerhouse.
“We talked about having a revenge tour. We were playing three teams in the Mountain West that had just beaten us. So it matched up pretty well,” Calhoun told CP after the victory.
But the conference losses weren't the only motivation for Calhoun's crew.
“We were not too fond of being a nine seed,” Calhoun added. “We won 28 games, won the regular season title, we won the tournament title.”
He believes the selection committee handed USU a seed too low. Even despite playing in a loaded MWC that came close to sending San Diego State to the tourney. Plus produced four March qualifiers one year ago.
“So when this team has an edge and they play with a little bit of swagger and a little bit of toughness and resilience, we can cause a lot of problems,” Calhoun said.
His team handed Villanova speed problems toward the end. Utah State's fast break erupted late that erased a 73-71 ‘Nova lead. The Aggies outscored the Wildcats 15-3 the rest of the way by stealing passes and turning it into quick points.
THE STEAL AND DUNK FOR UTAH STATE ALMOST SEALS THE WIN!#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/iZayVc2dhs
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) March 20, 2026
Calhoun ends up winning his first NCAA tourney game and can send his team past the second round for the first time since the 1969-70 season.
