Said senior guard Chris Smith: "We had a lot of adversity going into the game, losing Dave. … But that just fired us up even more."
Collette was the Freshman of the Year in the Mountain West Conference in 2014-15, but Utah State edged the Wildcats without him.
Smith scored 19 points on 4-for-5 three-point shooting and he got plenty of help from forward Lew Evans and point guard Shane Rector.
A transfer from Tulsa, Evans finished with 17 points and five rebounds. Rector, who played last season at Miami Dade College, contributed 15 points and five assists.