SAN DIEGO — Prior to Friday afternoon’s NCAA Tournament game between the Utah State Aggies and Villanova Wildcats, Utah State head coach Jerrod Calhoun and Villanova head coach Kevin Willard both joked about the need to consume large amounts of caffeine this time of year.
While it’s uncertain which coach ended up drinking more coffee leading up the first round matchup between the No. 9 seed Aggies and the No. 8 seed Wildcats, it’s clear that Calhoun definitely has more stimulating beverages in his near future than Willard following Utah State’s 86-76 victory over Villanova at Viejas Arena.
“I think you have to watch at least seven games, and that requires probably 10-12 hours of work,” Calhoun said of preparing for Sunday’s second-round game against No. 1 seed Arizona (33-2).
“... So yeah, coffee is going to be flowing tonight, but there’s a lot of other coaches that would love to be in this position and I want to do everything in my power to make sure our guys are prepared. We’ve got a lot to do tonight.”
Although Calhoun will have precious little time to prepare for a second straight version of Wildcats, Willard would gladly trade him places rather get on a plane to fly back to Philadelphia.
After a strong first regular season at Villanova that resulted in a third-place finish in the Big East, the veteran coach is struggling to cope with being upset by No. 11 seed Georgetown in the Big East tourney, as well as letting a 10-point second-half lead over the Aggies get away down the stretch of Friday’s game.
“You know, we got up by 10, and then we gave up three offensive rebounds. Give them credit,” Willard said. “They’re a veteran team, older guards. They did a great job of getting in the late, but we had our opportunities.
“Then we were up 73-71, and we missed two layups that kind of really hurt us. Give them credit. They capitalized on it.”
Willard, who took Maryland to the Sweet Sixteen last season, saw his first year with the Wildcats (24-9) come to an end despite his team going 14 for 30 from 3-point range, while the Aggies (29-8) connected on just 2 of 16 shots from long distance.
However, Utah State was 26 for 35 from inside the 3-point arc, and finished 28 for 36 from the free-throw line.
“They were getting to the paint a lot,” Villanova forward Duke Brennan said of the Aggies. “They have good shooters, but they weren’t shooting too much. They were driving to the paint, and they were just getting fouls.
“I think they shot a ton of free throws to our little amount of free throws (6 for 13), and that was a big factor in the game. We just weren’t defending without fouling.”
Willard was so frustrated with the Aggies scoring in the paint early in the game, including four baskets on inbounds plays from the baseline, that he went viral for a comment he made to CBS sideline reporter Lauren Shehadi during a media timeout.
“I’m going to fire my staff,” Willard said. “... Because we’ve given up eight points on underneath, out-of-bounds defense. The only thing I’m gonna do is fire them and get a new staff.”
When asked about his controversial comment after the loss to the Aggies, Willard responded: “It’s a joke.
“I don’t care,” he added when it was noted that people online were being critical of his declaration. “Welcome to my life. It’s a joke.”
While junior guard Mason Falslev (9 for 16, 22 points) and senior guard MJ Collins Jr. (7 for 12, 20 points) carried the Aggies to victory by combing for 32 of their points in the second half, Willard took the time to praise the performance of two less-heralded USU players: graduate point guard Drake Allen and junior forward Karson Templin.
“Even though we scored 76 points, I think defensively they’re really connected. They play well together, and I don’t think Drake Allen gets enough credit for running that basketball team and how well he runs it,” Willard said.
“I thought he played great, offensively and defensively. ...I thought he had three big steals. I thought he switched the game more than anybody.”
Allen, who played nearly 34 minutes, contributed 11 points, six assists (with no turnovers), three rebounds and one of USU’s only two 3-pointers.
Templin, who was named the Mountain West’s Sixth Man of the Year last week, had a relatively quiet game statistically for him (four points and five rebounds), but Willard obviously took notice.
“I thought the kid, Templin, was the difference in the game.” Willard said. “I thought he came in with energy and just changed things. ... I thought he did so many good things defensively, and I thought he gave them energy that gave those other guys some driving lanes.”