The Aggies have a strong guard tandem that has led them into the NCAA Tournament.

No. 9-seeded Utah State def. No. 8 Villanova in the first round of the Men's NCAA Tournament.

MJ Collins' steal and emphatic one-handed slam dunk with 1:13 left gave him 20 points and Utah State opened its fourth straight NCAA Tournament by beating Villanova 86-76 on Friday. Mason Falslev, the Mountain West Conference Player of the Year, scored 22 and helped bring the Aggies back from a 10-point deficit early in the second half. Both players came on strong in the second half for Utah State (29-6), the No. 9 seed in the West Region that will play No. 1 seed Arizona in the second round on Sunday.

The Aggies have punched a ticket to the NCAA Tournament, while the Aztecs will have to wait to see their fate on Sunday.

Though San Diego State and Utah State both finished with six made 3-pointers apiece, the host Aggies made three of theirs in the final seven minutes of the top of conference showdown to send the Aztecs to a 71-66 loss on Saturday afternoon at Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.Reese Dixon-Waters led all scorers with 19 points, his 11th consecutive game in double-figures, but was the only player for SDSU (15-6, 9-2 Mountain West) to do so as Tae Simmons scored 9 points and BJ Davis and Jeremiah Oden each sc