SAN DIEGO, Calif. — The Utah State Aggies were eliminated from the NCAA tournament Sunday after falling to Arizona.
Utah State, the No. 9 seed, fell to the Wildcats, who were the No. 1 seed in their division of the tournament and the 2nd-ranked nationwide.
Arizona controlled the lead the entire game, leading by nine points at halftime with a score of 33-24.
Utah State struggled on 3-pointers in the first half, going 1/12. That changed in the second half, however, making several from behind the arc as they tried to catch up to the Wildcats.
Arizona came out strong in the second half. They increased their lead to as much as 18 points.
The Aggies battled back, though, cutting the lead to just four points multiple times. Their increased success on 3-pointers helped, and they also forced several Arizona turnovers.
It wasn't enough, though, as Arizona pulled away to a 78-66 lead at the final buzzer.
Much of Arizona's success can be credited to dominating on the boards. They out-rebounded the Aggies 45-23.
Utah State advanced to the second round after beating Villanova on Friday.
No Utah schools remain in the tournament; BYU was upset by No. 11 seed Texas in the first round.
