Utah State vs Wyoming Betting Preview
College basketball handicapper JM Sports gives his Utah State vs Wyoming prediction in the Mountain West Conference. At the time of posting, the Cowboys have opened as a 2-point home favorite over the road Aggies, with the total sitting at 140.5 points.
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Tuesday, February 8 | Mountain West Conference Betting Notes |
---|---|
Point Spread: | Utah State Aggies +2 vs Wyoming Cowboys |
Total: | 140.5 Points |
Game Time: | 9:00pm ET / 6:00pm PT |
Arena: | Arena-Auditorium in Laramie, WY |
TV: | Stadium/MW Network |
Utah State vs Wyoming Analysis
This season and in recent years the Mountain West conference hasn’t always put out big name talent, but they have continuously proven themselves as a conference that knows how to play some defense, even when the offenses of those teams don’t match up to the same caliber, hence a team like San Diego State.
Although, this big conference match-up is a little bit of a different story, pitting two of the best offensive units in the conference against each other in a match-up in Wyoming, as the Utah State Aggies head to take on the Cowboys of Wyoming.
Aggies Playing Fearless as of Late
Utah State may be #6 in the Mountain West, do to a lackluster 6-5 record, but the stats and record they have on the season doesn’t exactly speak the same story. The Aggies are 14-9 on the season and averaging 75 PPG on the year and in just the last five games, Utah State has been impressive.
They are undefeated going 5-0 and not only did they just win those games, but they put up almost 79 points, outscored their opponents by 21 PPG and they were an underdog on average in those games combined.
They shot over 53% in those five games and they look to continue that run and improve their 48% shooting percentage against conference opponents and 49% shooting mark on the season. They have put up 7.5 more PPG then opposing defenses have allowed this season on average but Wyoming is no easy task.
Utah State has won four of the five games these two teams have played in the last three seasons, but this year, they are just 1-7 in the last eight games against KenPom’s top-100 and they are up against one of their hardest opponents to date.
While Utah State has played the more difficult schedule, Wyoming is the 2nd best offense they have played this season, but they have lost all four games against top-60 ranked offenses in terms of efficiency.
When you look at the defensive side of the ball, Utah State has played 10 teams that rank in to the top-100 in defensive efficiency, and while they started out 3-0 against those caliber teams, they then lost six straight games, prior to their big win against San Diego State.
Utah State has utilized their height to make themselves a top-10 team in terms of 2PT%, and that can be a distinct advantage against a Wyoming team that is noticeably shorter.
Even on the money line, the Aggies have been a dominating presence, 9-1 in the last 3 seasons against poor passing teams (avg. 12 or less assists/game), 2-8 in just the last two seasons after covering two of the last three games against the spread and 2-7 this season off back-go-back games giving up nine or less offensive rebounds.
Although, it hasn’t just been this season, dating back to 1997 they are 100-34 on the money line off a home win against a conference rival, and they look to add another win to that record, and another win on a conference rival.
Wyoming Dominant at Home
Wyoming has one of their starts with a big old question mark next to his name with Kenny Foster listed as questionable. Even without Foster, this Wyoming is still fit to impress against their conference opponent.
While Utah State has held the head-to-head advantage in the last three years, when you look back a little farther, Wyoming is 6-2 straight up on their home court when taking on Utah State, and this season, teams haven’t been very lucky on Wyoming’s court.
The Cowboys are 18-3 this season, and outscoring their opponents by over 8 PPG but they are undefeated, a perfect 9-0, at home this season and outscoring opponents there by an astounding 17.1 PPG on average on their own court!
They are shooting almost 52% at home this season, which has led to 84.1 PPG on average, while allowing just 63.8! They have won four out of their last five games, but their five game stretch has been more difficult then the last five games that Utah State played.
4-1 in the last five games is impressive, but even more impressive is their 8-1 record against conference opponents, sitting at #2 in the Mountain West. They are basically a top-25 team this season, coming in ranked at #26 in the most recent AP polls and they look to continue their impressive run.
Wyoming is 9-2 on the money line against teams with a winning record this year, while winning seven of their eight games on the money line against teams that are allowing <= 42% shooting to their opponents and 11-2 against poor pressure defensive teams, teams forcing 14 or less turnovers per game this year.
They are also 10-1 on the money line this year after winning four (or five) of their last six games, 8-1 after a game where they covered the spread, and 8-1 on the money line after two or more consecutive wins this season.
Wyoming looks to propel themselves into the top-25 in the next release of the AP polls and this win could put them in a position to do just that.
Utah State vs Wyoming Prediction
Wyoming has looked nearly unstoppable at home, and at multiple other points in this season, and while Utah State has shown glimpses of being a top-tier team, their play in the last five games hasn’t portrayed the entirety of their season, although if they play to their highest capability, this could be a huge win for a Utah State team that continuously has found themselves slipping in the conference standings.
Wyoming is 13-2 against the spread in the month of February over the last 3 years, closing out their season in impressive fashion heading to March in the recent past. The way Wyoming is playing, and their impressive resume against top-100 teams (according to KenPom), which has slated 5 straight wins against the spread, covering by almost 6 points per game, not to mention winning 4 of those 5 games straight up.
Prediction: Wyoming Cowboys (-2)
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Utah State vs Wyoming Preview from GoldSheet
Here come the Aggies, with five wins in a row for new HC Ryan Odom, who was coaching in some bad luck earlier in the Mountain West schedule with a succession of close losses (five, in fact, by 2, 5, 2, 7, and 3 points).
Five straight double-digit wins later, suddenly there is regional buzz about USU having a chance to get back to the Dance as it is looking very capable of making another run in the Mountain West Tourney after having reached the finals in three consecutive years, and winning it twice.
Perhaps it has been learning to play minus jack-of-all-trades senior G Brock Miller, who has been out since late December with back issues, as 6-10 transfer Brando Horvath (who followed Odom from UMBC) now consistently scoring in the high teens and at 18 ppg the past three.
Sophomore G Steven Ashworth (double digit scoring in four of last five) seems to have come of age in support of Mr. Everything 6-7 Justin Bean (19 ppg & 10 rpg), who just hit UNLV for 32 in Saturday’s Aggies romp.
But just as we noted before Wyoming’s win on Sunday vs. Fresno, USU, like the Bulldogs, has been mostly feasting upon the mid and lower half of the Mountain West, while the Cowboys have had to deal with most of the contenders (though San Jose, Air force, and new Mexico are on deck).
Wyoming has just come off of perhaps its best week since the Jim Brandenburg era in the 80s, knocking off CSU, Boise (breaking the Broncos’ 14-game win streak in the process), and Fresno, while three times in the past four games getting 30+ point efforts from either G Hunter Maldonado (twice) or punishing 6-9 Graham Ike (Ee-kay; once).
Ike, who scored only two points in his only game vs. the Aggies last season when USU still had 7-footer Neemias Queta (now NBA Kings) patrolling the paint, also scored 23 in 27 minutes of court time as he battled fouls in a 71-69 Wyoming win at Logan.
With all due respect to the Aggies recent surge, this is going to be their toughest test since the win streak began. Play Wyoming.
College Basketball Stat Sheet
GoldSheet prepares a daily college basketball stat sheet, which offers a head-to-head comparison for how teams are performing in a number of key areas heading into a game. Check out Tuesday’s sheet, with notes on tonight’s Utah State vs Wyoming contest.
NCAAB Odds Screen
Sportsmemo’s live odds screen features up-to-the-minute lines from a variety of offshore and domestic sports books. Track the college basketball point spreads, moneylines, first half lines and betting percentages for all of Tuesday’s NCAAB games, including this Utah State vs Wyoming showdown, from your desktop or phone.
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