Conference tournaments may be taking place all across the country, but it’s hard to top the action we have seen in Las Vegas at the Mountain West Tournament. The second of two very compelling semifinal games scheduled for Friday will pit the 3-seed Utah State Aggies against the 2-seed Boise State Broncos. With both teams in major need of a resume-boosting win, the Utah State vs Boise State college basketball betting picks actually have the lower seed installed as a slim favorite.
The following game preview provides the college basketball betting odds, trends and KenPom ratings before sharing our official Utah State vs Boise State prediction for the Mountain West Tournament semifinal matchup.
Utah State vs Boise State Prediction | College Basketball Betting Picks
Mountain West Tournament Semifinal
(3) Utah State Aggies (25-7, 13-5 MWC) vs. (2) Boise State Broncos (24-8, 13-5 MWC)
Time: Approx. 11:59 p.m. EST
Venue: Thomas & Mack Center — Las Vegas, NV
Coverage: CBSSN
Utah State Aggies Preview
Entering the Mountain West Tournament, Utah State was considered to be squarely on the March Madness bubble. After a convincing win over New Mexico in the quarterfinals on Thursday, the Aggies are feeling much better about their prospects of earning an at-large bid. Ryan Odom’s squad certainly checks all of the boxes when it comes to adjusted statistics, which include an 18th ranking nationally in the College Basketball NET. A win on Friday night could help the Aggies avoid playing in the First Four.
Boise State Broncos Preview
Boise State took an adventurous route to the Mountain West Tournament Semifinal Round. In Thursday’s quarterfinal against UNLV, the Broncos led by as many as 26 before going ice-cold shooting in the second half. A three-pointer in the dying seconds allowed the Rebels to force overtime, but Leon Rice’s team dominated in the extra period to both win and cover the college basketball betting spread. Like their opponent, a win on Friday will go a long way in helping the Broncos improve their NCAA seeding.
Utah State vs Boise State College Basketball Betting Picks and Odds
College basketball betting odds for Utah State vs Boise State can be found at BetOnline Sportsbook.
Moneyline: USU: (-132) | BSU: (+112)
Point Spread: USU: -2 (-110) | BSU: +2 (-110)
Total: 145 — Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)
College Basketball KenPom Ratings
The following table displays the KenPom adjusted efficiency ratings for the two teams involved in Friday’s second Mountain West Tournament Semifinal. In addition to overall efficiency margin, offensive, defensive and tempo ratings are included.
| Team | Overall AdjEM (Rk) | AdjO (Rk) | AdjD (Rk) | AdjT (Rk) |
| Utah State | +18.69 (21) | 118.8 (12) | 100.1 (82) | 68.8 (113) |
| Boise State | +17.59 (27) | 111.6 (66) | 94.0 (17) | 66.5 (223) |
Utah State vs Boise State College Basketball Betting Trends
- Aggies are 6-0 ATS in their last six games overall.
- The OVER is 6-0 in the Aggies’ last six games after scoring more than 90 points in their previous game.
- Broncos are 0-6-1 ATS in their last seven games following a straight up win.
- Seven of the Broncos’ last nine neutral site games have stayed UNDER the total.
- Betting favorites are 5-1 ATS in the last six Utah State vs Boise State head-to-head meetings.
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Utah State vs Boise State Prediction | College Basketball Betting Picks
This Mountain West Tournament semifinal game also sets up as a rubber match after Utah State and Boise State split a pair of regular-season meetings between them. Neither game was particularly close either, as both sides won by double-digit margins on their respective home floors.
The contrast in team strengths will be fun to watch play out in this matchup. The Aggies have been one of the most efficient offenses in the country this season, as evidenced by their No. 12 adjusted KenPom ranking. On the contrary, defense is the name of the game for Boise State. The Broncos rank 17th in adjusted defensive efficiency and also prefer to play at a much slower pace than Utah State.
In terms of roster construction, it’s hard not to love what Ryan Odom has done in the transfer portal. Perhaps the key to the Aggies continuing their Mountain West Tournament run is Saint Joseph’s transfer, Taylor Funk. Operating as a stretch four, he torched New Mexico for 32 points including 6-10 shooting from beyond the arc. If he can continue shooting anything close to his line from Thursday’s win, Utah State will be a force to be reckoned with.
The backcourt battle between USU’s Steven Ashworth and the Broncos’ Marcus Shaver Jr. will also be fascinating to watch. The Aggies could prove to have an advantage in this area as well given the presence of Max Shulga. While both he and Ashworth have averaged over four assists per game, Shaver is the only Boise State player with more than two this season. With Daniel Akin providing good size down low, look for Utah State to prove once and for all that they are NOT a bubble team.
UTAH STATE COVERS will be our official college basketball betting Utah State vs Boise State prediction for the Mountain West Tournament Semifinal Round matchup.
For what it’s worth, the ESPN Matchup Predictor gives Boise State a 51.5% chance to win this game outright.
Bet: Utah State -2 (-110 at BetOnline Sportsbook)
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