The San Jose State Spartans will be at Arena-Auditorium to face off against the Wyoming Cowboys in a Mountain West matchup. The game begins at 9:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Mar. 2.
The Cowboys were beaten by UNLV 79-74 on Saturday. Josh Adams was the game’s leading scorer with 31 points. The Spartans are coming off an ugly 88-70 loss at the hands of Utah State on Saturday. Cody Schwartz had a team-high 11 points.
Over the last five games, Adams has really been playing well for the Cowboys. During that stretch, he has averaged 25.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 3.2 steals, 1.2 blocks, and 5.2 three-pointers.
The physical Wyoming offense seems poised to dominate from the foul line. It ranks 21st in the nation with a FTA rate of 44.1, while San Jose State is among the nation’s most foul-prone squads (giving up a 270th-ranked FTA rate of 44.8).
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Spartans won the first game 62-55. Alan Herndon had a standout performance with 14 points, four rebounds, one steal, one block, and two three-pointers in the loss.
The Cowboys are looking to improve on their records of 13-17 Straight Up (SU) and 13-12-1 Against The Spread (ATS). The Cowboys will be looking to pick it up in this one after recent offensive struggles. In the last 10 games, Wyoming has only averaged 63.9 points per game compared to the 71.4 they’ve averaged on the season. The Cowboys are a phenomenal three-point shooting team with 10.0 made per game, one of the highest marks in Division I. Wyoming will look to take advantage of the Spartans and their propensity to foul. San Jose State ranks 326th in the nation in fouls, averaging 22.0 per game.
On the other side, San Jose State has a SU record of 8-20 and an ATS record of 16-11.
San Jose State won the last meeting this season between these two teams, but the win was not enough to overtake Wyoming in their recent head-to-head series. Its record is now 1-4 SU over the most recent meetings. The Spartans lead the matchup ATS with a record of 4-0-1. San Jose State held the edge in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers once, while Wyoming was never able to do so in their most recent five games.
Predictions: SU Winner – SJSU, ATS Winner – SJSU
Notes
San Jose State lost its last game by an 18-point margin. In games decided by a margin of 18 points or more, Wyoming is 3-1. San Jose State is 3-6 in blowouts this season.
Wyoming has an average field goal percentage of 44.2%. San Jose State is an underachieving 2-12 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The Wyoming Cowboys and the San Jose State Spartans both rank higher in average effective field goal percentage when compared to their field goal percentages. Wyoming is 172nd and 29th in the nation for FG% and eFG% respectively, while San Jose State is 251st and 244th in these categories.
San Jose State ranks 92nd in assists, recording 14.7 per game. Wyoming performs worse at 240th with 12.5 assists per game.
Wyoming has forced an average turnover percentage of 16.4% this season. San Jose State has a subpar 5-15 record when its TO% is 16.4% or higher.
