Villanova vs. Utah State: Rollie Massimino connection, Ralph Willard’s defense, and more things to know

SAN DIEGO — Villanova vs. Utah State in a college basketball arena on the sunny campus of San Diego State University is about as random as it gets, even by NCAA Tournament standards.

The Wildcats and Aggies meet Friday at Viejas Arena (4:10 p.m., TNT), and the winner likely has a Sunday date with top-seeded Arizona, which is 32-2 entering the tournament and has Final Four and championship talent.

But while the lone matchup between the two schools was in 1960 — a 73-72 Utah State victory in an NIT quarterfinal — there are some familiar threads at play Friday.

» READ MORE: Villanova has spent the last two days studying Utah State. What have the Wildcats learned?

Here are some things to know about Villanova’s first-round matchup with Utah State:

Mary Jane Massimino used to cook pasta for her husband Rollie’s Cleveland State team every other week. He made his sons part of the program.

Twenty-three years after Jerrod Calhoun played for Massimino at Cleveland State, it’s those aspects of running a program that he leans on most.

“What Coach Mass taught me about running a program is family,” Calhoun said Thursday. “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.”

If there are televisions in the afterlife, Massimino, who died in 2017, will be conflicted while he watches Friday.

The longtime Villanova coach ended up at Cleveland State from 1996 to 2003 after a short stint at UNLV, and during his last two seasons he coached Calhoun, a 6-foot-3 shooting guard.

When Massimino’s run ended at Cleveland State, so did Calhoun’s playing career. He transferred to Cincinnati and became a student assistant, beginning a coaching career that 23 years later has him coaching Utah State to its second consecutive at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

“I don’t know if there was another coach that I’ve ever seen really bring people together like Coach Mass,” Calhoun said. “He was very charismatic. He had energy every day. He never had a bad day.

“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.”

Calhoun’s chief of staff, Paul Molinari, is a Villanova grad who was a student manager for Massimino and then followed him to UNLV, where he was a video coordinator, and then to Cleveland State, where he coached Calhoun.

» READ MORE: Like father, like son: Villanova’s run to the NCAA Tournament has Ralph Willard’s hands on it

One of Kevin Willard’s first reactions to facing Utah State after the brackets were revealed Sunday night was “they play my father’s defense.”

Utah State (28-6) plays a matchup zone that has roots with Ralph Willard, Kevin’s father, who was a head coach at Western Kentucky, Pittsburgh, and Holy Cross.

The route Ralph’s matchup zone took to Utah State comes via Eric Haut, the Aggies’ associate head coach. Haut was hired when Calhoun got the job in 2024, but before that he worked for Darrin Horn at Northern Kentucky. Horn was a four-year player and three-year starter for Ralph Willard at Western Kentucky from 1991-95.

But Calhoun, Willard said Thursday, has put his own spin on it, and might even run it better than his father did.

A lot has been made about Utah State’s offensive efficiency, but Villanova’s ability to score against its 44th-rated defense (by KenPom’s adjusted efficiency) will be key.

This year’s version of Utah State’s defense, Willard said, has morphed into more of a man-to-man than it was last season.

“This time of year, you really can’t reinvent the wheel of who we are offensively. ... The other night against Georgetown, our offense was rated like 1.4 points per possession per shot. We just didn’t make shots.

“We’re going to have to make shots against the defense because they do such a good job on penetration of really going after the basketball. They use their length good. They use their physicality. I think that’s what I’ve been most impressed with. They create turnovers for touchdowns.”

Like in many March Madness affairs, it will be in the hands of Villanova’s guards.

Utah State’s frontcourt isn’t imposing with its size, but it is deep. Villanova’s is not.

Malachi Palmer will start again in place of Matt Hodge, who went down on Feb. 28 with a torn ACL that ended his season. When Palmer is off the floor, Villanova has struggled to rebound.

Tyler Perkins is a great rebounder for a 6-4 guard, but not so much when he’s asked to muscle up against power forwards.

Willard has threatened to deploy a two-big-man lineup with starting center Duke Brennan and his backup, Braden Pierce, sharing the floor at the same time, but said earlier this week that Utah State’s size won’t require that unit to see the floor.

That’s probably a good thing for Villanova, which hasn’t gotten consistent production from Pierce when he spells Brennan.

How the Wildcats survive the minutes Palmer, a 6-6 wing, is off the floor would go a long way to deciding the victor.

» READ MORE: Villanova’s Matt Hodge deals with the bittersweet nature of an NCAA Tournament he can’t play in

The Wildcats (24-8) need to make shots, of course. That’s a prerequisite on any day. But the length and physicality of Utah State’s guards make that paramount because touches in the paint may be limited for Villanova’s guards.

On the other side, keeping Utah State out of the paint will go a long way. The Aggies are super efficient because they attack the paint and move the ball. Mason Falslev does a lot for them, and MJ Collins Jr. can really fill it up. Limiting their ability to attack off the dribble is easier said than done.

Prediction: Utah State 71, Villanova 66.