The Southern Utah Thunderbirds and the New Mexico State Aggies meet Wednesday in college basketball action from Pan American Center. Southern Utah is 8-5 overall this year. The Thunderbirds lost to Colorado in their last game. As for New Mexico State, they’re sitting at 7-5 after a win over NC A&T. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Southern Utah’s losses this year have come to New Mexico, Kansas, Texas State, Montana State and Colorado. Otherwise it’s been wins over La Verne, St. Katherine, Bethesda, Sacramento State, Idaho State, West Coast Baptist, CSUF and Northern Arizona.
Matched up against Colorado last Wednesday, the Thunderbirds trailed 38-34 by the break. Southern Utah was outpaced 48-44 in the second and lost it 86-78. Harrison Butler doubled up with 18 points and 11 rebounds in the defeat.
Over on the New Mexico State side, they’ve beaten NM Highlands, San Diego, UTEP, Simon Fraser, Duquesne, Northern NM and NC A&T this year. Their losses have come to UTEP, UC Irvine, Santa Clara, Saint Mary’s and Kent State.
Back on Thursday versus NC A&T, the Aggies took a 46-36 lead by halftime. New Mexico State kept the pace from there and eventually won 85-76. Marchelus Avery doubled on 20 points and 10 boards, while Xavier Pinson added 20 points as well.
PICK: I’ll probably try New Mexico State here. The Aggies are coming off a quality win over North Carolina A&T, and they’ve been doing reasonably well lately. New Mexico State has hit 68 or more points in four of the last five games, going 3-2 in that time. Southern Utah should provide a good matchup here; the Thunderbirds have been at 67 points or more in seven straight outings. If both teams play well this should be a pretty high-scoring game. I ultimately like New Mexico State a little better on the cover, though.