LEXINGTON, Ky. — Skyy Clark and Eric Dailey Jr. each scored 14 points and No. 7 seed UCLA routed 10th-seeded Utah State 72-47 on Thursday night to reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in five seasons.
Aday Mara, a 7-foot-3 reserve center, added 10 points for coach Mick Cronin’s Bruins (23-10), who will face second-seeded Tennessee on Saturday in the Midwest Region as they seek their fourth Sweet 16 appearance in the past five editions of March Madness. The Volunteers also cruised to an easy win, 77-62 over Wofford.
Mason Falslev scored 17 points and Deyton Albury had 12 for Utah State (26-8), which reached its third consecutive NCAA Tournament — this time under Jarrod Calhoun, the Aggies’ third coach in that span.
UCLA broke the game open by holding the Mountain West school to just two free throws in a 12-2 run for a 39-27 halftime advantage. Then the Bruins had a 17-7 surge early in the second half to build a 20-point lead.
The Bruins finished at 48% from the field after shooting 55% in the first half. They made 10 of 24 3-pointers, eight of 10 players scored, and they had 22 assists on 26 baskets.
“The guys just did a great job,” Cronin said. “And it helped us to have three days because against a matchup zone defense you have to score on passing and cutting. You can’t dribble your way into it. They’re going to steal the ball. So guys just did a great job.”
Utah State shot 30% while committing 11 turnovers, leading to 20 UCLA points.
“I thought in the first half, they made shots,” Calhoun said. “So much this time of year is about shot-making, right? And when you don’t make shots, it affects your defense.”
Calhoun, a West Virginia assistant under Bob Huggins, has been mentioned as a possible candidate for the Mountaineers’ coaching vacancy. He didn’t address that speculation and said only that he had been “offered a tremendous opportunity” by Utah State athletic director Diana Sabau and the staff “over the last really 24 hours,” without being specific.
“I think Utah State can win a national championship,” he said, following earlier comments noting the school raising $1 million for name, image and likeness payments to athletes. “I wouldn’t say that if I didn’t believe it.”
UCLA guard Sebastian Mack left midway through the second half with what Cronin said was a groin injury. The Bruins were safely ahead by then but stayed aggressive to put away an offense that ranked 14th in the country in shooting at nearly 49%.
“If you just let them come back in the game, they will,” Clark said. “And so just doing everything we could to try to get them out of rhythm and not let them run their offense, that was the key.”
Utah State: The Aggies outscored UCLA 17-10 in second-chance points, 28-22 in the paint and 16-9 on the break. None of that could offset 4-of-31 3-point shooting.
UCLA: The Bruins won their 12th of 16 games by making sure everybody was involved. Dylan Andrews had eight assists and eight points, while Kobe Johnson also scored eight. UCLA edged Utah State 38-35 on the glass, including 29-19 advantage on the defensive end.
UCLA will face Tennessee for just the second time and more than 48 years after beating the Vols 103-89 in Atlanta under Gene Bartow. Cronin wasn’t totally happy with the Bruins’ effort but added, “We’ve been preparing all year to play Saturday.”
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