One of the top men’s basketball teams in the Mountain West hopes to get back to its winning ways after an eye-opening experience against a team it probably should have blown out of the gym.
Utah State (16-2, 6-1 Mountain West) went on the road last Wednesday and lost, 65-62, to UNLV (11-7, 5-2 MWC). The Aggies dropped out of the AP Top 25 poll after the loss, but they’ll do their best to get back in with a win over visiting Nevada at 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
The Aggies won 16 of their first 17 games this season, matching their third-best start in program history. They lead the Mountain West with a .492 team shooting percentage and a +1.61 assist-to-turnover ratio, but Utah State’s offense sputtered against UNLV. The Aggies turned the ball over 12 times and got outscored in the paint, 36-20.
Utah State’s Ian Martinez ranks No. 5 in the conference this season with 16.7 points a game, and Mason Falslev ranks No. 7 with 15.9. He also ranks No. 7 in the conference with 6.3 rebounds a night.
Nevada (11-7, 3-4 MWC) has won three straight Mountain West games since a 77-66 overtime win at Fresno State on Jan. 11. The Wolf Pack ranks No. 5 in the conference with 74.8 points a night.
Nevada is led by 6-foot-10 forward Nick Davidson, who is averaging 15.6 points and seven rebounds a game. Kobe Sanders is chipping in with 14.7 points a night.
Nevada at Utah State Betting Odds
Utah State is a 6.5-point college basketball odds favorite against Nevada on BetMGM, and the Over/Under is 142.5 points. The Moneyline is at -275 for Utah State and +220 for Nevada.
Utah State is 12-8 against the spread in its past 20 regular-season games as a favorite at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum in Logan, Utah. Nevada is 12-8 ATS in its last 20 regular-season games as an underdog on the road.
Nevada at Utah State on TV
The Mountain West game featuring Utah State and Nevada will be televised on FS1.
Tonight’s tip-off is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET.
Nevada at Utah State Prediction
I predict Utah State wins, 72-60.
The Aggies were a well-oiled machine until everything fell apart against UNLV. Utah State didn’t take care of the ball and the Rebels capitalized, but the Aggies didn’t exactly look bad in the loss. They still shot almost 42% from the floor and almost 39% from 3-point range.
Utah State overlooked UNLV. It’s as simple as that. The Aggies thought they were going to cruise to a win in the Mountain West, where no lead is safe. They learned their lesson, and they’ll continue their hot-shooting ways in anticipation of a rematch with UNLV on Jan. 29.
The Aggies also know they can’t afford many more setbacks if they’re going to overtake New Mexico (16-4, 8-1 MWC) in the race for the Mountain West’s regular-season title.
Nevada isn’t going to roll over and play dead, though. The Wolf Pack has been a thorn in the side of many of the conference’s top teams this season. They gave Utah State all it could handle in a 69-64 loss on Dec. 31, 2024. They also came up short, 82-81, in overtime against New Mexico on Jan. 3 and fell to Colorado State, 66-64. Nevada also lost to Wyoming, 66-63.
Six of Nevada’s seven losses have come by five points or less this season. Head coach Steve Alford is a rugged, old-school coach, and his personality is obviously rubbing off on his team.
