Utah State Aggies (28-6, 18-5 MWC) vs. Villanova Wildcats (24-8, 15-6 Big East)
San Diego; Friday, 4:10 p.m. EDT
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Aggies -2.5; over/under is 147.5
BOTTOM LINE: Villanova plays Utah State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Wildcats’ record in Big East games is 15-6, and their record is 9-2 in non-conference games. Villanova is fourth in the Big East with 15.5 assists per game led by Acaden Lewis averaging 5.3.
The Aggies are 18-5 against MWC opponents. Utah State is 23-6 against opponents with a winning record.
Villanova makes 45.7% of its shots from the field this season, which is 3.3 percentage points higher than Utah State has allowed to its opponents (42.4%). Utah State has shot at a 49.9% rate from the field this season, 4.9 percentage points higher than the 45.0% shooting opponents of Villanova have averaged.
TOP PERFORMERS: Lewis is averaging 12.3 points, 5.3 assists and 1.9 steals for the Wildcats. Tyler Perkins is averaging 15.1 points over the last 10 games.
Michael Collins Jr. is shooting 36.6% from beyond the arc with 2.3 made 3-pointers per game for the Aggies, while averaging 17.6 points. Mason Falslev is averaging 15.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.5 steals over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Wildcats: 7-3, averaging 76.2 points, 28.9 rebounds, 16.6 assists, 8.0 steals and 2.1 blocks per game while shooting 44.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 75.3 points per game.
Aggies: 7-3, averaging 78.8 points, 28.6 rebounds, 16.7 assists, 8.0 steals and 2.3 blocks per game while shooting 46.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 73.9 points.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.