Utah News

How To Watch:

Friday, March 20

Utah State vs. Villanova (4:10 p.m. EST) | Coverage: TBS

Location: San Diego, Calif.

FanDuel Odds:

Utah State vs. Villanova

Betting Line: Utah State -1.5 (-102)

Moneyline: Utah State -126, UCLA +105

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O/U: 146.5 (-115)

(Check out FanDuel Sportsbook here. Odds and lines are subject to change)

For the first time in nearly a decade, the Mountain West stamped just one bid into the NCAA Tournament. That team? Utah State, who took home the Mountain West’s regular season title and tournament title for the second — and final — time in program history.

Utah State was the best team all season. It parlayed a strong regular season finale against New Mexico into a dominant tournament. They bested UNLV by 20 points, Nevada by 14 and San Diego State by 11 in the title game, — even though the Aggies essentially had an at-large bid locked up for weeks. At the very least, they’re now making their sixth NCAA Tournament appearance over the last eight years.

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And Kevin Willard’s squad presents no easy task. Led by freshman Acaden Lewis and Tyler Perkins, the Wildcats opened the season 12-2 — despite an opening night loss to BYU and a MTE loss to Michigan — ultimately finishing 27-8 in a weaker Big East, where it placed third. Though Villanova got bounced in the first round by No. 10 Georgetown, 78-64, which was shocking.

Lewis and Perkins are the two names to keep an eye on for Villanova. Lewis averaged 12.3 points and 5.3 assists on 46.4 percent shooting, albeit with poor 3-point and free-throw shooting splits. Perkins topped the team in scoring at 13.7 points on 44.2/36.6/73.9 shooting splits, adding 5.4 rebounds and 1.2 steals a night.

Duke Brennan presents a lot of size in the middle, although Villanova doesn’t have a ton of size elsewhere, which could benefit Utah State.

The Aggies are led by the Mountain West Player of the Year Mason Falslev, in addition to MJ Collins, who led the team in scoring and 3-point shooting. Drake Allen was also one of the conference’s top playmakers, dishing out 4.7 dimes, while Adlan Elamin, Garry Clark and Karson Templin, the MW Sixth Man of the Year, was impactful off the bench.

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Keys To Victory:

Speed Villanova Up: Villanova doesn’t play with great pace. We saw the Aggies speed teams up in the MW Tournament with its shape-shifting matchup zone defensively. If it can do the same and present different looks, it could luck into a few more turnovers which, in turn, can speed Villanova up.

Attack Offensive Glass: Villanova’s a poor defensive rebounding team and isn’t large. USU, on the other hand, is a good-not-great offensive rebounding team. Rebounds win championships in this sport — especially in March. Find a way to acquire any extra bites possible.

Must Continue To Execute Late: Guard play wins. Utah State has two excellent guards in Falslev and Collins — who are better than Villanova’s crop. And their ability to execute late in games has been critical to the team’s success. At this time of year, that must continue.

Prediction: Utah State 73, Villanova 69

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox’s first book, “Off Ramp: How to be a Peacemaker in an Age of Contempt,” will be available on Sep. 8.

The release comes just before the one year anniversary of the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Utah.

The apparently politically motivated murder was one of the most high profile and publicly viewed killings in American history.

It also thrust Utah’s governor — who had spent years warning against violent polarization — into the national spotlight.

At the time, Cox said he hoped the tragedy would be “a catalyst to help us find that off ramp that we desperately need.”

Now the governor is presenting a road map.

The book is billed as a “practical guide to depolarization,” centered around Cox’s well-known slogan of “disagree better.”

As chair of the National Governors Association, Cox led the initiative to model healthy dialogue between opposing parties.

He debuted a Disagree Better nonprofit in the aftermath of Kirk’s death, convening depolarization groups from across the country.

Around the time he launched “Disagree Better” in 2023, Cox began working on a book, he revealed at a November press conference.

“It’s about where we are as a country and just my concerns around the polarization that we’ve been seeing,” he said.

When asked whether the book deal with Penguin Press foreshadowed a presidential run, Cox insisted, “This is not that.”

“I have no interest in running for president,” Cox said. “This is just something that is just so important to me.”

“It’s something I believe in.”

The Minnesota Timberwolves are truly an epiphany in basketball. Before tonight the Wolves had lost four of their last six games. Despite being one of the most marketable and successful teams in their history, the regular season has always seemed like a red herring for what they actually are.

Case in point them being 12th in offensive rating, 11th in defensive rating and 11th in net rating.

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Utah on the other hand, seem like they’re always a Will Hardy temper tantrum away from a blowout win against any opponent. There was no sarcasm in that sentence — Utah always happens to find themselves in a close finish against their opponents during this post-ASG period.

But alas, the Jazz were all business tonight for Tanking and Co™. A calm and orthodox 147-111 loss was what Jazz fans were treated to on the last leg of their West Coast road trip. Wolves had a grip on Utah all game, a combination of turnovers, poor interior defense and an Ayo Dosunmu takeover all played a part.

With only a single glance at the injury report, the Jazz were ready to make their report in Minnesota just for league formalities. There was no intention to play the game of basketball.

Minus Anthony Edwards with right knee inflammation, the Wolves were in full-force in their push over the 5th-seeded Nuggets to battle it out in an excruciatingly difficult matchup against the powerhouse Jazz. There was intention to play the game of basketball.

Utah came out the gates with the hot-hand; every Jazz fan across the glove pinched the bridge of their nose as they were probably expecting Utah to fight tooth and nail for an agonizing and close loss. Perfectly normal for the Jazz to knock down 3-4 of their three-pointers in the first two minutes. Also completely normal for the Wolves to shoot 4-5 from the field in that same period.

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Hardy has his business outfit on. No intentions of losing this one, using the services of Kevin Love and John Konchar — don’t worry Svi, you’ll get to play someday.

It was all Wolves from that point on. Minnesota went on a 20-5 run between the 3:02 and 6:38 mark in the first quarter, led by Julius Randle’s 16 points and 4 steals at the half. Old friend Rudy Gobert poured in 12 points and 11 rebounds on a perfect 6-6 from the field.

They held a 26-7 advantage in fastbreak points despite the Jazz not having that far of a disadvantage in fastbreak possessions. Wolves generated 8 steals while committing 9 turnovers, while Utah collected 10 turnovers.

On the brighter side of the St. Paddy’s Day rainbow, it was none other than ‘Ice Brice’ Sensabaugh record 23 points and 3 boards on 10-17 shooting on a chilling 35 degree day in Minneapolis. Ace Bailey scored 12 on 4-7 three-point shooting.

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The Timberwolves then took away our small pot of gold; a further 21-9 run in the third quarter was enough to put the cork back on the lid. They shot 80% from the floor during that period whilst hitting 4 triples. Gobert scored seven points, Utah recorded an additional four turnovers, totalling to 18 turnovers for the Jazz through three quarters.

On yet another 11-3 run by Minnesota in the final frame, Ayo Dosunmu scored or assisted in 8 points as Utah turned it over three times. And right on cue, it was none other than Jinglin’ Joe Ingles to make an appearance on the basketball court once the Jazz were down by 38. Hold up, and he had back-to-back buckets? Well, that makes this night just a tad more bearable, as if it were bearable at all beforehand.

I will say this, if there was a listing of players who could break the absurd 83-point night by ███ ███████, I’d guarantee Brice isn’t too far down the list. When he has the hot hand, everything is going down in flames. The former Buckeye recorded his second 40+ point performance this season, finishing with 41 points, 4 boards on 17-31 shooting.

Hardy had high praise for Ace Bailey before tonight, calling him “incredibly unselfish. For somebody that was as highly touted as he was… He doesn’t carry himself where he thinks he’s not getting enough…”

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And tonight he responded with calm 17 points, 2 boards and 2 assists on 6-13 shooting. Nothing too flashy, but he’s dialled in his three-point shooting compared to how he fared earlier in the season. Over the last five games, he’s shot 20-42 (47.6%) from beyond the arc.

Up Next

Utah is back home on their turf in Salt Lake City to welcome the Milwaukee Bucks tomorrow night, March 19th, at 5 PM MST.

Taylor Frankie Paul, the Utah reality star slated to be ABC’s upcoming “Bachelorette,” addressed reports Wednesday of an alleged domestic abuse incident involving her former boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen.

Paul built a career as a leading influencer in the viral #MomTok community on TikTok, a group of Utah women who share clips of their lives online.

She has also starred in four seasons of the Hulu reality show “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” filmed in Utah, which has chronicled her on-again, off-again relationship with Mortensen.

“It’s been a heavy time to see the headlines,” Paul said on “Good Morning America” ahead of “The Bachelorette” premiere on Sunday. “It’s supposed to be a really exciting time.”

“I’m a person that will always speak my truth. That’s what I’m known for. So when the time is right, I will be,” she added. “But right now (I’m) just trying to be in the present moment … but the thing is my kids do come first.”

Paul is a mother of three and shares one child, Ever, with Mortensen.

A spokesperson for the Draper City Police Department confirmed to People that there is an open “domestic assault investigation” involving Paul and Mortensen, and that “allegations have been made in both directions.” The police spokesperson also said that “contact was made with involved parties on (Feb.) 24th and 25th.”

In response to questions about the investigation, the police told ABC News, ”The Draper Police Department respects the rights and privacy of all citizens. Without an immediate impact to public safety, it is the practice of the department not to release details related to active investigations.”

The ongoing investigation has put filming for the fifth season of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” on hold and will remain paused for the foreseeable future.

Paul told “Good Morning America” it was “hard to say” what her future on the reality series will look like.

“It’s hard to see past this, I’m not going to lie. In this moment, it’s just so heavy,” she continued. “When your life is broadcasted out there in these headlines, it’s like the end of the world. That’s what it feels like.”

A representative for Mortensen, Paul’s ex-boyfriend who is also involved in the domestic abuse allegations, responded to reports of the ongoing investigation on Wednesday.

“His No. 1 priority here is protecting (their 2-year-old son), Ever,” his representative shared in a statement to Entertainment Weekly. “He knew there was a possibility it could come out, but he was not going to be the one to proactively do that because he has always wanted a decent relationship with Taylor. It’s been really hard to achieve that, but he wants to co-parent well.”

Paul was charged in 2023 with aggravated assault and two counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child.

In February 2023, Herriman, Utah, police responded to a call to Paul’s home on a report of domestic violence. According to charging documents, Paul and her then-boyfriend, Mortensen, were arguing when she threw her phone, a wooden play set and metal barstools at him.

One of the barstools she threw created a hole in the wall and another struck her 5-year-old daughter, who was seated next to Mortensen on the couch.

Paul pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in exchange for the dismissal of her domestic violence charges.

Where: Viejas Arena (San Diego, CA)

When: Friday, March 20 at 4:10 PM EST

How to Watch: TNT

FanDuel Betting Odds: Villanova +1.5 (subject to change)

NET Rankings: Villanova 35, Utah State 26

KenPom: Villanova 33, Utah State 30

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Torvik: Villanova 36, Utah State 29

About the Aggies: Utah State was selected to finish second in the Mountain West Conference Preseason Poll, but finished in sole possession of first at 28-6 (15-5). The Aggies then defeated San Diego State, who finished in second and was picked first in the preseason, 73-62 in the conference championship.

Leading the Aggies is Jerrod Calhoun, the recently-named Mountain West Coach of the Year. The 44-year-old is in his second year in Logan after a seven-year stint at Youngstown State. Calhoun is arguably the hottest name in the couching carousel, with rumors of him being the new Cincinnati coach once this tournament run is done.

Sitting at the top of the scouting report is Mason Falslev, who was named Mountain West Player of the Year. The 6’4” junior was also named to the All-Mountain West First Team and All-Defensive Team. Falslev has spent his entire career with the Aggies, despite being guaranteed to have plenty of interest elsewhere. Falslev averages 15.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.9 steals on 51.9% from the floor and 41.7% from three-point range.

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Falslev’s running mate is MJ Collins Jr., who leads the team in scoring at 17.6 points per contest. The senior transfer from Vanderbilt shoots an efficient 49.5% from the floor and 37.2% from deep. The 6’4” guard was selected as part of the All-Mountain West Second team. Collins Jr. and Falslev are the only two Aggies who average in double figures.

Coming in at third in scoring at 9.3 points per game is the Mountain West Sixth Man of the Year, Karson Templin. The 6’9” junior forward shoots 53.9% from the field and 36.5% from three. Templin is part of a four-man frontcourt rotation with freshman Adlan Elamin, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi transfer Garry Clark and Utah transfer Zach Keller.

The last of the rotation players is starting guard Drake Allen, who scored 13 points in the championship against the Aztecs on 5/10 from the floor. The 6’5” senior is capable of scoring from the perimeter, but is only shooting 31.4% from deep on the year. Allen leads the team in assists at 4.7 per contest.

The Aggies are a highly-efficient offensive team, ranking 38th in the nation in points per game and 14th in field goal percentage. Utah State is also 48th in three-point percentage, 17th in assists and 20th in assist/turnover ratio.

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Villanova’s keys to victory:

1. Slow down Collins Jr. and Falslev: Easier said than done, of course. Collins Jr. comes from Virginia Tech and Vanderbilt, so you know he won’t be intimidated playing against a school like Villanova. Falslev (along with Templin and Allen) played in the 7/10 game against UCLA last year, with Falslev scoring a team-high 17 points on 6/17 from the floor. This time around should be more comfortable for the Mountain West Player of the Year. Look for Tyler Perkins to match up with Falslev, hopefully using his strength as an advantage. The duo averages 33.5 points per game. I would think the sweet spot would be 30 or below.

2. Do not play at the Aggies’ tempo: Utah State averages 83 points per game, whereas Villanova averages 77.6. The Wildcats are 22-5 on the season when holding the opponents to below 80, and 2-3 when the giving up 80 or more. As the adage says, it’s easier to slow the game down than to speed it up. While Utah State is only 173rd in adjusted tempo according to Torvik, Villanova is 306th. Slow the game down, use your strength to your advantage.

3. Go inside: This is not a game where the Wildcats’ lack of size should be as problematic. Duke Brennan should be able to have his way with whoever is put on him, both with and without the ball. And while Templin and Elamin have a height advantage on Malachi Palmer and Perkins, they don’t have a strength advantage. Kevin Willard talked about using both Brennan and Pierce together at the watch party on Sunday, but has since indicated he won’t be doing that in this one. Attack the rim, crash the boards and draw fouls (also please hit your freebies at the line).

Prediction: Most of the analysts and money seems to be on Utah State, and it’s understandable why. Villanova hasn’t beaten any at-large teams besides Wisconsin. Utah State is coming off of a conference championship, while the last image of the Wildcats was arguably the worst performance of the season against Georgetown. That said, this team hasn’t lost back-to-back games all season and will also be the best team that the Aggies have played all year. Give me Duke Brennan, Tyler Perkins and Devin Askew in a big moment (and hopefully, Acaden Lewis’ arrival to the bright lights). Villanova advances for an all-Wildcat match-up on Sunday in San Diego.

Providence guard Stefan Vaaks plans to enter the transfer portal, a source told On3. The Friars parted ways with head coach Kim English earlier this month.

“Providence fans, coaches, and supporters, thank you so much for welcoming me into Friar Nation as one of your own,” Vaaks said on Instagram. “Due to the recent coaching change, I plan on entering my name in the transfer portal. Thank you for everything.”

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The 6-foot-7 freshman from Estonia averaged 15.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game. He shot 40% from the field and 35% from three.

He scored a season-high 28 points against Butler in the first round of the Big East Tournament, leading the Friars to a win. Vaaks scored 20 or more points in 10 games this season.

The 20-year-old was named to the All-Big East Freshman Team and was a two-time Big East Freshman of the Week.

Prior to joining the college ranks, Vaaks played professionally in Estonia, spending last season with BC Kalev as part of the Estonian-Latvian Basketball League and the FIBA Europe Cup. For BC Kalev, he averaged 15 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game. He was also named to the Latvian-Estonian League All-Star Five.

March 18, 2026, 6:55 a.m. ET

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — A Utah woman was convicted Monday of aggravated murder after poisoning her husband with fentanyl and self-publishing a children’s book about coping with grief.

Prosecutors said Kouri Richins slipped five times the lethal dose of the synthetic opioid into a cocktail that her husband Eric Richins drank in March 2022 at their home outside the affluent ski town of Park City. They said she was $4.5 million in debt and falsely believed that when her husband died, she would inherit his estate worth more than $4 million.

“She wanted to leave Eric Richins but did not want to leave his money,” Summit County prosecutor Brad Bloodworth said.

Richins, 35, stared at the floor and took deep breaths as the judge read the verdict.

She was also convicted of other felonies, including attempted murder for trying to poison her husband weeks earlier on Valentine’s Day with a fentanyl-laced sandwich that made him black out. Jurors also found Richins guilty of forgery and fraudulently claiming insurance benefits after his death.

The jury deliberated for just under three hours. Afterward, family members on both sides of the case left the courtroom hugging and crying.

“Honestly I feel like we’re all in shock. It’s been a long time coming,” said Eric Richins’ sister, Amy Richins, adding that the family can now focus on honoring her brother and supporting his sons. “Just very happy that we got justice for my brother.”

Relatives of Kouri Richins left the courthouse without speaking to media.

Sentencing was scheduled for May 13, the day her husband would have turned 44. The aggravated murder charge alone carries a sentence of 25 years to life in prison.

What was scheduled to be a five-week trial was cut short when the defendant waived her right to testify, and her legal team abruptly rested its case without calling any witnesses. Her attorneys said they were confident that prosecutors did not produce enough evidence over the past three weeks to convict her of murder.

‘A wife becoming a black widow’

The prosecution said Richins, a real estate agent focused on flipping houses, was deep in debt and planning a future with another man. She had opened numerous life insurance policies on her husband without his knowledge, with benefits totaling about $2 million, prosecutors said.

Richins also faces 26 other money-related criminal charges in a separate case that has not yet gone to trial.

Earlier Monday, prosecutors showed the jury text messages between Richins and Robert Josh Grossman, the man with whom she was allegedly having an affair, in which she fantasized about leaving her husband, gaining millions in a divorce and marrying Grossman.

The internet search history from Richins’ phone included “what is a lethal.dose.of.fetanayl,” “luxury prisons for the rich America” and “if someone is poisned what does it go down on the death certificate as,” a digital forensic analyst testified.

Bloodworth replayed for the jury a clip of Richins’ 911 call from the night of her husband’s death. That’s “not ‘the sound of a wife becoming a widow,’” he said, quoting the defense’s opening statement. “It’s the sound of a wife becoming a black widow.”

Defense attorney Wendy Lewis responded that the prosecution “looks at facts one way and sees a witch, but if you look at those facts another way, you see a widow.”

‘Give us the details that will ensure Kouri gets convicted’

The defense focused on trying to discredit the prosecution’s star witness, Carmen Lauber, a housekeeper for the family who claimed to have sold Richins fentanyl on multiple occasions.

Lewis argued Lauber did not deal fentanyl and was motivated to lie for legal protection. Lauber said in early interviews that she never dealt the synthetic opioid, but later said she did after investigators informed her that Eric Richins died of a fentanyl overdose, the defense noted.

Richins had asked Lauber for “the Michael Jackson stuff,” which Bloodworth said likely refers to the drug combination that killed the singer.

“She knows she wants it because it is lethal,” he argued.

The housekeeper was already in a drug court program as an alternative to incarceration on other charges when authorities arrested her in connection with the Richins case, investigators said. She had also violated some conditions of drug court.

The defense showed a video of law enforcement warning Lauber that they could pull her drug court deal and that she could face a lengthy prison sentence.

“Give us the details that will ensure Kouri gets convicted of murder,” a man in the video said.

Lauber was granted immunity for her cooperation in the case. She testified that she felt a need to “step up and take accountability of my part in this.”

Children’s book becomes a tool for prosecutors

Shortly before her arrest in May 2023, Richins self-published the children’s book “Are You with Me?” about coping with the loss of a parent. She promoted it on local TV and radio stations, which prosecutors pointed to in arguing that Richins planned the killing and tried to cover it up.

Summit County Sheriff’s detective Jeff O’Driscoll, the lead investigator on the case, testified that Richins paid a ghostwriting company to write the book for her.

O’Driscoll said shortly after Richins’ arrest, her mother sent the book to the sheriff’s office in an anonymous package with a note saying it exemplified the “true Kouri, a devoted wife and adoring mother.”

Prosecutors also showed the jury excerpts of a letter found in Richins’ jail cell that they said appeared to outline testimony for her mother and brother. In the six-page letter, Richins instructed her brother to tell her former attorney that Eric Richins confided in him about getting fentanyl from Mexico and “gets high every night.”

Defense attorneys said the letter contained a fictional story their client was working on. They argued that Eric Richins was addicted to painkillers and asked his wife to procure opioids for him.

However, Richins told police on the night of her husband’s death that he had no history of illicit drug use, according to body camera footage shown in court.

___

Associated Press reporters Hallie Golden in Seattle and Jacques Billeaud in Phoenix contributed.

With the backing of local leaders, the Utah Inland Port Authority board on Monday approved the creation of the Black Gold Project Area in Duchesne County.

The project area, spanning approximately 2,780 acres in Duchesne County and Roosevelt, will establish a framework for coordinating infrastructure improvements and economic development tools within the designated acreage.

Local land-use authority, however, would remain under the jurisdiction of Duchesne County and Roosevelt. Both the county and Roosevelt previously adopted resolutions supporting the establishment of the project area.

“The Black Gold Project Area is designed to align infrastructure planning and economic development tools with the needs of Basin communities,” said Ben Hart, executive director of the Utah Inland Port Authority. “This framework supports long-term economic resilience, encourages private investment, and helps position the region for a broader range of logistics-supportive and value-added industries.”

Governmental support

Duchesne Mayor Deborah Herron, who also serves as the county’s economic development director, said the inland port will help an area that has long been sustained by energy and agriculture build a “more resilient and diversified economy.”

“This project area helps diversify our economy by expanding opportunities beyond traditional extractive industries, while energy production will remain important in the Uinta Basin, the inland port framework allows us to intentionally recruit complementary industries,” Herron said, specifically mentioning logistics, manufacturing, warehousing and information technology.

She lauded the port’s ability to attract new businesses to the area while also emphasizing the importance of the county’s communities maintaining local control — a point echoed by Drew Eschler, Roosevelt planning director.

“This initiative supports a coordinated approach to economic development and infrastructure planning while preserving local decision-making authority,” Eschler said. “The Black Gold Project Area helps ensure that future investment aligns with the needs of our residents and contributes to long-term economic opportunity.”

Eschler added that the project could help the area better navigate the inevitable busts that accompany the booms of the extraction industry.

“Local businesses in downtown Roosevelt and throughout Duchesne County struggle when workers leave and spending declines. This is why creating a project area … is so important. An inland port project area would help attract new industries such as manufacturing, commercial logistics, energy services and agriculture, processing. These industries create year-round jobs that stabilize the local economy, even when oil markets fluctuate,” Eschler said.

Unanimously approved, the Black Gold Project Area joins 14 other established project areas across the state.