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Utah State vs. BYU Prediction and Odds: Look for the Cougars to Struggle Against the Aggies Defense

By Matt De Saro

BYU and Utah State go head to head in a bit of in-state rivalry action on Wednesday night.
BYU and Utah State go head to head in a bit of in-state rivalry action on Wednesday night. / Jeffrey Swinger-USA TODAY Sports
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An in-state rivalry will be rekindled tonight when the Utah State Aggies take a short trip to face off against the No. 24 BYU Cougars at the Mariott Center. The Aggies are coming into this home game off a tough 60-58 loss to the St. Mary’s Gaels on Thursday night as a short favorite. Meanwhile, BYU beat the Missouri State Bears as slight favorites on Saturday to move to 7-1 on the year. BYU has won nine games in a row straight-up in this rivalry.

This should be one of the more exciting games of the night with both teams hungry for a non-conference win over their rivals before starting conference play. Here are the odds for this rivalry game, courtesy of WynnBET Sportsbook.

Utah State vs. BYU Odds, Spread, and Total

Spread:

  • Utah State +6.5 (-115)
  • BYU -6.5 (-105)

Moneyline:

  • Utah State +225
  • BYU -285

Total: 141.0 (Over -110/Under -110)

Utah State vs. BYU Prediction and Pick

Utah State might have two losses on the year, but both of those games were air-tight. In fact, they lost both games by a combined score of five points. The Aggies offense runs through Justin Bean who is putting up 22 points and 12.5 rebounds per contest. Because he takes defensive attention away from the rest of the team when he has the rock, it really opens up scoring opportunities for the rest of the team. 

On defense, the Aggies don’t pressure teams too much on the perimeter and instead focus much of their energy on defending the paint. Therefore, teams who are very good from behind the arc are dangerous to this Utah State team. 

Luckily for them, BYU is one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the nation. Entering this matchup, the Cougars are 332nd in the country with a three-point shooting percentage of just 26.8 and a total of just 5.9 treys made per game. 

I think you can see where I’m going with this but based on the offensive/defensive splits, I am all in on the underdogs here to keep this game closer and cover. 

Pick: Utah State +6.5

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