by Chuck Sommers
Tuesday, Jan 31, 2023
Time: 10:30 p.m. ET
Venue: Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, Logan, UT
Where to watch: FS1
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Utah State -4
FanDuel: Utah State -3.5
BetMGM: Utah State -4.5
Caesars: Utah State -4
Season record
New Mexico: 19-3 (6-3 Mountain West)
Utah State: 17-5 (6-3 Mountain West)
We’re nearing the halfway mark of the college basketball season and it’s been quite the ride so far. Will Rogers is going hard in the last 30 days with a 16-10-1 run, while Kyle Hunter has also had a strong run of form as of late at 28-24-0 (+$1,700). If they’ve been killing it as much as they were in the first half, what does the second half have in store? The only way you’re going to find out is by staying locked on bigal.com and following what our champion handicappers are up to heading into the second half. Trust us, you want to know.
New Mexico - Utah State preview, prediction and analysis
Recent form
New Mexico: won 81-73 vs. Air Force
Utah State: won 70-53 at Fresno State
The New Mexico Lobos fell out of the top 25 after their loss to the Nevada Wolfpack one week ago, but bounced back with a victory over the Air Force Falcons on Friday. They will now try to keep everything going well when they face the Utah State Aggies and what might be their most difficult task of the season to date.
The New Mexico Lobos fell out of the top 25 after their loss to the Nevada Wolfpack one week ago, but bounced back with a victory over the Air Force Falcons on Friday. They will now try to keep everything going well when they face the Utah State Aggies and what might be their most difficult task of the season to date.
New Mexico is coming off in 81-73 victory over Air Force last week in which New Mexico had one of its best offensive outings of the season by shooting 52% from the field despite shooting only 29% from 3 point range going five of 17. Jamal Mashburn led the way with 24 points on 8 of 17 shooting and made eight of 10 from the free throw line while Jaelen House chipped in with 19 points.
New Mexico is obviously one of the best teams in the conference and there is a logjam in the Mountain West up top. New Mexico has won five of its last six games but has only covered in four of those. The latest one was being 13 point favorites against Air Force, but winning by only 8 that did not happen. The over has also cashed for New Mexico in the last three games with the Lobos scoring at least 81 points in their last three games and if you go back to even January 9th, they had reached at least 76 points in each of those games.
Another one of those top teams in the Mountain West happens to be Utah State and the Aggies are coming off a 70-53 victory over Fresno State on the road on Saturday. It was nearly a complete road sweep in California had it not been for losing by 10 to San Diego State, but Utah State is still as it stands one of the top teams in the Mountain West because of this defense that is vastly underrated.
Dan Akin Led the way with 23 points off the bench to go along with eight rebounds and three blocks 4 Utah State. Steven Ashworth added 14 points and six rebounds to go along with six assists while Sean Bairstow also had time points to go with eight rebounds.
Utah State is a very deep team with the capability of beating opponents by any which way. That win however did give Utah State its first victory against the spread in five games has 4.5 point favorites against the Bulldogs. No one really likes going up to Logan UT in order to get a victory, and this is not going to be an easy feat for New Mexico going into this game.
Prediction
Homecourt advantage really does matter in this series. The home team is 12-4 in the last 16 meetings which goes to show you just how dominant these two home courts can be. In the case of this game, Utah State is the clear, distinct advantage and should win another thriller over New Mexico. Utah State 84, New Mexico 81
Betting trends
New Mexico is 79-52 ATS on Wednesday since 1997.
New Mexico is 199-160 ATS after 3 straight conference games since 1997.
Utah State is 275-227 ATS as a favorite since 1997.
Utah State is 190-146 ATS at home since 1997
Projected starting lineup
New Mexico:
PG: Jaelen House
SG: Jamal Mashburn Jr.
SF: Javonte Johnson
PF: Josiah Allick
C: Morris Udeze
Utah State:
PG: Steven Ashworth
SG: Max Shulga
SF: Sean Bairstow
PF: Taylor Funk
C: Daniel Akin
Injury report
New Mexico: D. Dent (ankle, questionable), B. Appelhans (thumb, out), E. Kuac (leg, out)
Utah State: R. Jones (upper body, out)
New Mexico: D. Dent (ankle, questionable), B. Appelhans (thumb, out), E. Kuac (leg, out)
Utah State: R. Jones (upper body, out)
Statistical leaders
New Mexico:
Points: Jamal Mashburn Jr. -- 19.5
Rebounds: Morris Udeze -- 8.5
Assists: Jaelen House -- 4.8
Utah State:
Points: Steven Ashworth -- 15.3
Rebounds: Daniel Akin -- 7.5
Assists: Steven Ashworth -- 4.7
Don't miss our champion handicappers' free picks and expert basketball picks today. And if you enjoyed this New Mexico Lobos - Utah State Aggies prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our daily college basketball projections and previews.
Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
