Barely three weeks have passed since Utah State played a game in Viejas Arena, but the Aggies know at least two things will be different Friday afternoon when they battle Villanova in a first-round game of the NCAA Tournament.

One, the players and coaches will be sitting on the south side of the court instead of the north. Two, and more significantly, the atmosphere will be much friendlier.

“I think for them,” Villanova coach Kevin Willard said, “it might be actually nice just so they don’t have to go against 11,000 people rooting against them.”

That happened last month and Utah State got blown out by San Diego State, losing 89-72.

“Viejas is a great venue,” Aggies guard Mason Falslev said. “You guys have great fans. To be honest, when we come here, it’s a very hard place to play. I think in the last 15 years (actually 12), we’ve only won one time.”

That was last year, when Utah State edged the Aztecs despite trailing by 18 in the first half and by seven with under two minutes left.

“It’s nice to have some familiarity, coming here and shooting and being in a place where we’ve been before on neutral turf. I’m excited,” Falslev said.

Added forward Karson Templin: “It’s always fun to come and play (here). But they’re a fellow Mountain West team. So hopefully if they have some fans (here), they’ll be rooting for us.”

Utah State coach Jerrod Calhoun mentioned two other positive factors for playing in San Diego: proximity to Logan and weather. The latter sentiment was shared by Villanova freshman guard Acaden Lewis.

“I’ve been enjoying myself out here in San Diego,” Lewis said. “The vibe’s a lot nicer than Philly, to be honest. You walk outside, it’s a little nicer. And I went by the pool yesterday, just chilled, hung out with my guys. Everything’s just been nice since we got out here.”

Ties that bind

Calhoun is more than a little familiar with Villanova basketball. When he played at Cleveland State, his coach was Rollie Massimino, who two decades earlier pulled off one of the greatest upsets in any sport when the Wildcats shocked Georgetown in the 1985 national championship game.

“What Coach Mass taught me about running a program is family,” Calhoun said. “We run it very similar to the way he did. Our student managers are a big part of our program, our support staff, our administration.

“I don’t know if there was another coach that I’ve ever seen really bring people together like Coach Mass. He was very charismatic. He had energy every day. He never had a bad day. His wife was incredible, Mary Jane. Used to cook us pasta every two weeks. His sons were a big part of the program.

“A lot of what we do structurally is from Coach Mass. It’s pretty surreal to be coaching – I’m sure he’d be proud – against his favorite team.”

More ties

Utah State plays a matchup zone, a defense that originated with a coach named Ralph Willard — Kevin’s father.

“Coach Calhoun does it probably better than anybody,” Willard said. “And I’ve tried it. The matchup zone is really difficult. And I think what I’ve seen from them is, the difference from last year’s team to this year’s team, is guys that have played in it multiple years.

“And I think that’s why it’s so good now is it’s a defense where most of the time they don’t know what they’re doing. So that means the offense has no clue what they’re doing. That’s kind of what it was always designed to be.”

Mountain doldrums

Outside of San Diego State, it’s been a long time since any team in the Mountain West even ascended to the Sweet 16. Nevada was there in 2018, and before that you have to go back to UNLV in 2007. The only other team to get there in the history of the conference — which began with the 2000 tournament — was Utah in 2005.

The other schools have made 54 appearances and won 17 of 71 games — a .239 winning percentage (SDSU was 13-14 as a MW member). Utah, a founding member, has the most wins with four, and the Utes left the conference in 2011. Colorado State, New Mexico and UNLV have three apiece; Utah State, which like San Diego State is leaving this summer for a new iteration of the Pac-12, has only the one from 2024.