Four consecutive March Madness games were hosted at Viejas Arena on March 20, fans from around the country came to support their teams.

SAN DIEGO — The March Madness action in San Diego began with the Arizona Wildcats taking on the Long Island University Sharks. The one-seed made it a one-sided afair, taking the win by a 34-point margin.

Things started to heat up with the next game, the winner of which will play Arizona in the second round. It was the Utah State Aggies, fresh off a Mountain West Championship win against San Diego State, taking on the Villanova Wildcats.

#9 Utah State vs. #8 Villanova

During practice day on March 19, Villanova head coach Kevin Willard noted that the Aggies would be a challenge. In his first year as head coach, Willard has brought Villanova’s reputation back.

On the other side, Utah State coach Jerrod Calhoun has pushed the reputation of his team to new heights and has a veteran core who truly plays like each game is their last.

From tipoff, this game brought energy that the first game lacked. There were lead changes throughout the first half, and it was Villanova who held a one-possession lead going into the half.

The Wildcats extended their lead early in the second half, but Utah State dug in its heels. By the end of the game, they had created 42 points in the paint and were taking frequent trips to the free-throw line.

Mason Faslev was a huge proponent of the Aggies’ success in the game, but it was MJ Collins Jr. who sealed the game. Steal, fast break, behind-the-back move, into the layup, creating a four-point swing that proved to be the dagger.

Utah State took the win 86-76.

Coach Willard went viral at halftime for saying that he’s going to need to make changes to his staff during the break. He then responded to some backlash for his comment from people online.

“I don’t care, welcome to my life. It’s a joke,” Willard said.

The tongue-in-cheek jab at his staff was followed by praise of Utah State’s unit, specifically Karson Templin off the bench. Templin pulled down four offensive rebounds and played energetic defense, which put the Wildcats out of position multiple times.

 #12 University of Northern Iowa vs. #5 St. John’s University

Rick Pitino’s Johnnies have been firing on all cylinders. Zuby Ejiofor and the St. John’s core are as capable a unit as any in the tournament. Ejiofor has NBA-quality features: he can shoot, drive, and rebound with the best of them, but also has the leadership and poise of someone ready for the next level.

Ejiofor led the Red Storm in points and rebounds, but points were spread pretty evenly through the roster. Coach Pitino took this first-round matchup with high intensity, knowing that playing the opponent’s game is an easy way to get upset.

“We knew what we had to do to win this game,” Pitino said. “The obvious thing is we had to get our tempo.”

Ejiofor was strategically benched throughout the game, thanks to the comfortable leads he helped develop. Knowing that Cal Baptist or Kansas would be waiting for them in the second round on Sunday means staying fresh is essential.

“We’re playing really good basketball right now. The effort is there,” Ejiofor said. “We’re competing on both sides of the ball. But I feel we can still take it to a whole new level.”

Oziyah Sellers is St. John’s ‘ go-to three-ball producer, but he connected on only three of his nine attempts. There is room to improve for the next round, but the Red Storm looks as capable as anyone in the tournament right now.

#13 Cal Baptist University vs #4 Kansas

Cal Baptist is led by 5’10” guard Dominique Daniels Jr., who has been turning heads left and right with his athleticism. The first half started slowly for Daniels and the Lancers, but they fought back in a game that many had them counted out of.

It was an extremely slow start to the game with both sides struggling to get shots to fall. For the first 10 minutes of the game, it seemed there were more points from free throws than field goals.

For Kansas tonight, it was the Darryn Peterson show. The freshman guard is dynamite on the court, scoring 28 points, all of the team’s three-pointers, and grabbing a couple of steals in the process.

Peterson and Daniels Jr. orchestrated the most fun two-minute stretch of basketball out of every game tonight. The two went shot-for-shot for six straight possessions, sending Viejas into a frenzy.

Cal Baptist trailed by 26 before holding the Jayhawks scoreless for four and a half minutes, building an 18-2 run. The crowd was as in it as ever, and it felt like Viejas might witness a mythical March Madness comeback.

It wasn’t to last, though. Daniels Jr. missed a few shots after cutting it to a two-possession game, and Kansas won by a score of 68-60.

Coach Bill Self and his Jayhawks are eager to build on the positives and forget about the negatives of the game.

“They say survive and advance. And that’s what we did,” Self said. “I actually thought we were pretty darn good for about 25 minutes, and then went stale for about eight, and then was really poor the last seven. We just played not to lose and weren’t very aggressive.”

Next games

Viejas Arena will play host to two more March Madness games on Sunday, March 22. First will be #5 St. John’s and #4 Kansas, starting at 2:15 pm PST. The winner of that matchup will see either #1 Duke or #9 TCU in the Sweet 16.

Then, #1 Arizona and #9 Utah State at 4:50 pm PST. The winner’s Sweet 16 matchup will be either #12 High Point or #4 Arkansas.

Nate Tubbs

Nate Tubbs is a recent graduate of Journalism at San Diego State University. In his time at SDSU, he wrote and photographed several different sports for Aztec Link, the school’s NIL collective. He also co-hosted a weekly podcast featuring Aztec athletes, sharing their stories and goals for the season. Tubbs is passionate about photography, storytelling, and most of all, San Diego sports.