Bruins Breeze Past Aggies in First-Round Win

The UCLA Bruins put together one of their best performances of the season in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament, defeating the Utah State Aggies on Thursday night in Lexington. They will move on to play the No. 2 seed Tennessee Volunteers.

Mar 20, 2025; Lexington, KY, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Skyy Clark (55) celebrates after a three pointer during the first half against the Utah State Aggies in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Rupp Arena. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images / Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

The No. 2 UCLA Bruins (23-10) earned a massive 72-47 win over the No. 10 seed Utah State Aggies (26-8) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. It was a wire-to-wire victory that moves the Bruins into the Round of 32 to face the No. 2 seed Tennessee Volunteers (28-7).

Almost every player that got into the ballgame impacted the game in a winning way. The Bruins had 22 assists on 26 made field goals, while shooting 48.1% from the field and 41.7% from three-point range. They held a 12-point lead at halftime, extending it to 25 by the final horn.

The Bruins were led by junior guard Skyy Clark in his first career tournament game, scoring a team-high 14 points on 5-8 shooting and four 3-pointers. Senior guard Kobe Johnson hit a couple major 3-pointers while pulling down a team-high eight rebounds and four assists.

Junior guard Dylan Andrews was a court general, dishing a season-high eight assists while adding 8 points. Senior guard Lazar Stefanovic had 7 points and four assists. It cannot be stressed enough how well the entire roster played in a one-and-done situation with their season on the line.

After a rough showing in the Big Ten tournament, sophomore guard Eric Dailey Jr. and junior forward Tyler Bilodeau put together productive performances that helped push UCLA to the win. Dailey posted 14 points while Bilodeau had 9 points and seven rebounds.

Sophomore center Aday Mara had another marquee performance, earning 10 points on 4-5 shooting with five blocks while effecting many more shots. His size and physicality showed throughout the entire contest, dominating the lesser-sized Aggie post players.

Defensively, UCLA was top-notch, holding the Aggies to an extremely poor 30% on 18-60 shooting. They were just 4-31 from 3-point range, struggling to score on almost every possession. The Bruins' defense has been their golden goose all season long and they showed it once again.

The Bruins are set for a second-round matchup with the Volunteers Saturday night, seeking to reach the Sweet 16 for the fourth time since 2021. Despite having to play a No. 2 seed, this Bruins team matches up very well with their suffocating defense and current hot shooting.

Ensure you follow on X (Twitter) @UCLAInsideronSI and @tcav30 and never miss another breaking news story again.

Please let us know your thoughts when you like our Facebook page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.