Utah State vs. Fresno State: How To Watch, Preview, Score Prediction
This game could determine the No. 2 seed
Contact/Follow @JeremyMauss & @MWCwire
The Aggies are looking for revenge
The last time Fresno State and Utah State played it was at the Spectrum in Logan, Utah, with the Bulldogs pulling off a one-point upset win, 78-77, behind a game-winning three-pointer by Braxton Huggins who had 33 in the game.
Tuesday’s night game is at the SaveMart Center in Fresno, California, in what could be billed as the most important game for the rest of the Mountian West season.
These two teams are battling it out for the second seed in next months Mountain West tournament. A Fresno State win would give them a clear tie-breaker over Utah State, but a road Aggies win could complicate things if these two finish tied.
Utah State is a slight two-point road favorite and that is likely due to its six-game winning streak coupled with Fresno State having a recent bad loss to Colorado State.
“Obviously, it’s a pivotal game in conference play with both of us being one game back and both of us controlling our destiny still at this point,” said Utah State head coach Craig Smith via The Herald Journal. “It’s a big game in the conference tournament race. It’s a big game in the national scene with five to six weeks to go before conference tournament play.”
What the Aggies cannot afford to do is allow Fresno State to make 10 of 16 three-pointers in a single half, or allow easy layups; both of those were reasons Fresno State was victorious.
One player that the Bulldogs need to be careful of his Aggies center Neemias Queta who had six blocks in the last game, and he leads the Mountain West in swats at 2.5 per game.
“They’re a really good man-to-man team,” Fresno State head coach Justin Hutson said per the Fresno Bee. “They play really good defense. They help each other. When you have a shot blocker, it covers a lot of mistakes. They don’t make a lot of mistakes, but it definitely covers them.”
WHO: Fresno State Bulldogs (16-5, 7-2 MW) vs. Utah State Aggies (17-5, 7-2 MW)
WHEN: Tuesday, Feb. 5 — 8:30 p.m. MT/10:30 p.m. ET
WHERE: Save Mart Center; Fresno, California (16,182)
TV: AT&T Sports Net
STREAM: WatchStadium (out or market only)
RADIO: Utah State | Fresno State
ODDS: Aggies -2
