It will be a battle between Mountain West opponents when the Utah State Aggies (12-11) welcome the Colorado State Rams (14-11) to Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. Action gets underway at 9:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Feb. 17 and can be seen on ES3.
The Aggies come into this game hoping to repeat their last performance, defeating New Mexico 80-72 in their last game. Chris Smith was the team’s leading scorer with 19 points on 5-for-11 shooting. The Rams are coming off an 87-80 loss against UNLV in their last outing. Joe De Ciman had a team-high 16 points.
This is the second game of the year between these two teams, with the Aggies winning the first matchup 96-92. Despite the loss, Antwan Scott had a standout performance with 35 points, eight rebounds, six assists, one steal, and eight three-pointers.
The Aggies are looking to build on their records of 12-11 Straight Up (SU) and 8-12 Against The Spread (ATS). The Aggies have seen an uptick in scoring as of late, averaging 79.2 points during the last 10 games compared to their season average of 72.3 points per game. Utah State has left their fans wanting more on the defensive side recently. The Aggies have given up an average of 79.3 points to opponents in their last 10 games, well over their defense’s season average of 71.7 PPG.
Over on the other bench, the Rams head into the game with records of 9-12 ATS and 14-11 SU. The Rams rank 21st in the country in scoring, averaging 81.0 points per game. The Rams are an excellent long-range shooting team with 238 three-point shots made (9.0 per game), ranking 26th in Division I. The Rams have controlled the glass with an average of 39.8 rebounds per game, 40th in the country.
Utah State won the last meeting this season between these two teams, moving its SU record against the Rams to 4-1. Furthermore, Utah State leads the matchup ATS with a record of 3-1-1.
Predictions: SU Winner – ColoSt, ATS Winner – ColoSt
Notes
Colorado State is one of the top-scoring teams in the nation, averaging 81.0 points per game (ranked 21st). Utah State, on the other hand, allows 71.7 points per game (ranked 144th).
Ranked 32nd, the Colorado State Rams have an offensive rating of 113.6. The Utah State Aggies rank 247th with a defensive rating of just 106.3.
Colorado State has an average field goal percentage of 43.6%. Utah State is a subpar 5-8 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The Utah State Aggies and the Colorado State Rams both rank higher in average effective field goal percentage when compared to their field goal percentages. Utah State is 143rd and 107th in the nation for FG% and eFG% respectively, while Colorado State is 204th and 119th in these categories.
Colorado State, the 40th-ranked team in rebounding, registers an average of 39.8 rebounds per game. Utah State does worse, ranked 238th with 35.3.
The Colorado State Rams rank 63rd in offensive rebounds. The Utah State Aggies rank 215th in the nation in defensive rebounds.
Utah State has forced an average turnover percentage of 17.8% this season. Colorado State has a poor 4-7 record when its TO% is 17.8% or higher.
