New Mexico Lobos (22-8) vs. Utah State Aggies (25-5)
March 9, 2024 8:30 pm EDT
The Line: Utah State Aggies -1.5; Over/Under: -
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The New Mexico Lobos and the Utah State Aggies meet Saturday in college basketball action from Smith Spectrum. Let’s get into our New Mexico vs. Utah State prediction. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
New Mexico Lobos
The Lobos were sitting at a nice 18-3 record over their first 21 games this year. New Mexico has since gone a rocky 4-5, though. The wins in that time came versus Wyoming, Nevada, Colorado State and Fresno State. The losses were to Boise State, UNLV, San Diego State, Air Force and Boise State again.
In the Fresno State game on Wednesday, the Lobos were able to pull off a blowout home win. New Mexico jumped out to a 37-24 lead by the break, then cruised from there on a 42-34 advantage for a 79-58 outcome. Jamal Mashburn Jr. led the team on 19 points with four assists.
Utah State Aggies
Over on the Utah State side, they lost to only Bradley, New Mexico, San Diego State, Nevada and Colorado State over their first 26 games. The Aggies have since won four straight, taking out San Diego State, Fresno State, Air Force and San Jose State during that quartet of games.
Matched up against San Jose State in their Wednesday outing, the Aggies were up by a comfortable 53-37 margin by halftime. Utah State hit a 37-33 run the rest of the way and took the win 90-70. Darius Brown was tops in scoring with his 21 points, nine assists and five boards.
ANDREW’S FREE NEW MEXICO VS UTAH STATE PREDICTION
I’ll stick with Utah State. The Aggies are on a nice run these days and didn’t have too many issues with a struggling San Jose State team in their last outing. Utah State hit 53.4 percent from the field with 33 rebounds and 23 team assists in that one, but did post a rough number (57.1 percent) from the line.
There’s a revenge element in play for Utah State here. The Aggies took a 99-86 road loss the last time these teams met up back on January 16. Utah State gave up 57.4 percent shooting in that one and coughed up 14 turnovers for 20 Lobos points. I like the Aggies to rally and close out the regular season strong with a cover on Saturday.
