Double champion Utah State could be Mountain West’s lone NCAA Tournament representative

The Utah State men’s basketball team wrapped up its first double Mountain West championship since 2019 with a 73-62 victory over San Diego State in Saturday’s MWC Tournament title game. 

The Aggies (28-6), who also won the outright MWC regular-season title, are projected to be a No. 8 seed for the NCAA Tournament in the 2026 Bracket Matrix composite averages. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi also has Utah State as a No. 8 seed. 

“I hear all these coaches talking about their teams,” Aggies head coach Jerrod Calhoun said. “We just won the regular season and the tournament. We’ve got 28 wins with great metrics on both sides. Now we’ll see if we get rewarded. I’ll be anxious to see what kind of seed, what kind of matchup, but our guys will be ready.

“Momentum is a powerful thing, and we’ve got great momentum right now.”

After struggling on defense to close the regular season, Utah State surrendered an average of 62.7 points over three games at the MWC Tournament. 

“The last three days, we just guarded our tail off,” Calhoun said. “I’m really proud of the guys. To win the regular season (outright) and a (MWC) tournament title, we just made Utah State history. It’s never been done, so I’m just really, really proud of our guys.”

Utah State shared the MWC regular-season crown in 2019 and went on to capture the tournament title. 

The Aggies are set to make their fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance, which is also a program record. 

The MWC could be a one-bid league for the first time in nearly a decade as San Diego State (22-11) and New Mexico (23-10) are both among the first four out in Bracket Matrix and Lunardi’s projection. The MWC was awarded four NCAA Tournament bids last season and hasn’t received fewer than two bids since 2017.

The NCAA Tournament selection show broadcast will air on CBS at 4 p.m. Mountain time on Sunday. 

Here are the results for the 2026 MWC Tournament. 

Wednesday, March 11

First round

No. 8 UNLV 73, No. 9 Wyoming 70

No. 5 Nevada 80, No. 12 Air Force 45

No. 7 Colorado State 67, No. 10 Fresno State 63

No. 11 San Jose State 84, No. 6 Boise State 74

Thursday, March 12

Quarterfinals 

No. 1 Utah State 80, No. 8 UNLV 60

No. 5 Nevada 84, No. 4 Grand Canyon 80

No. 2 San Diego State 71, No. 7 Colorado State 62

No. 3 New Mexico 93, No. 11 San Jose State 77

Friday, March 13

Semifinals

No. 1 Utah State 79, No. 5 Nevada 66

No. 2 San Diego State 64, No. 3 New Mexico 62

Saturday, March 14

Championship game

No. 1 Utah State 73, No. 2 San Diego State 62