Utah State is on an eight-game winning streak, but the Aggies have to navigate their toughest stretch yet if they’re going to lock up their second Mountain West regular-season championship in the past three years.
The Aggies won their first outright Mountain West regular-season title in 2023-24. In 2018-19, they shared the title with the team they’ll face tonight, Nevada. Utah State (23-3, 13-2 MWC) travels to the Lawlor Events Center to take on the Wolf Pack, which has lost three of its past four games, including an 87-71 setback at San Jose State on Tuesday.
Junior guard Mason Falslev led Utah State with 26 points in a 71-62 win over Nevada (17-9, 9-6 MWC) in their first meeting of the season. It was the beginning of three straight 20-point efforts by Falslev. He also put up a season-high 27 points against Wyoming earlier this month.
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Utah State is going to need its leader on the court to have a few more productive outings because the Aggies end the regular season with four tough games. They travel to San Diego State (18-7, 12-3) on Wednesday, host Grand Canyon (17-9, 10-5) on Feb. 28, hit the road for a game at UNLV (13-13, 8-7) on March 3, and wrap up the regular season at home against New Mexico (20-6, 11-4) on March 7.
Vanderbilt transfer MJ Collins Jr. leads Utah State and ranks No. 3 in the Mountain West with 18.3 points per game. Falslev is No. 2 on the team and No. 7 in the conference with 16.3 points a night. He also leads the team with 5.6 rebounds a game and 56 steals, and he has 71 assists on the season.
Utah State leads the Mountain West with 84.3 points a game, and they’re giving up the second-fewest in the league at 68.6. The Aggies also lead the conference with a +3.5 turnover margin and a +1.65 assist-to-turnover ratio.
UTEP transfer Corey Camper Jr. leads Nevada and ranks No. 4 in the conference with 17.6 points per game. Six-foot-9 sophomore Elijah Price is adding 12.9 points and 8.8 rebounds a night, and University of Evansville transfer Tayshawn Comer is chipping in with 12.5 points a game and a team-high 96 assists.
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Utah State at Nevada Odds
Utah State is a 4.5-point college basketball betting odds favorite on BetMGM as of this writing, and the Over/Under is 148.5 points.
The Moneyline is at -210 for Utah State and +170 for Nevada.
Tonight’s game will be the 71st all-time meeting between the Aggies and Wolf Pack. Utah State leads the series 44-26, and it has won nine of its past 12 games against Nevada.
Utah State at Nevada on TV
The Mountain West game featuring Utah State and Nevada will be televised on FS1.
Tip-off is scheduled for 10 p.m. ET.
Utah State at Nevada Prediction
I predict Utah State wins 76-68.
Utah State has the Mountain West regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament in its sights. The Aggies have to survive a daunting gauntlet of games to get there, but they have the pieces to win out and head into the postseason as a champion.
Collins has emerged as one of the Mountain West’s top scorers in his first season in the league, and 6-foot-9 forward Karson Templin has come on late this season to be a force in the paint for the Aggies. They also have two of the best point guards in the league, including Elijah Perryman, who was named the conference’s Freshman of the Week after averaging 13 points, eight assists, and two steals last week.
The Aggies have plenty of talent and experience all up and down the lineup, but Falslev is the key to their success. He’s a talented scorer and maybe the team’s best defender. He doesn’t turn the ball over, he sets up baskets for his teammates with pinpoint passes, and he is Utah State’s emotional barometer. When he’s hot, the Aggies don’t lose very often.
Camper Jr. is going to get his points, and Nevada will probably keep it close for a half, but the Wolf Pack can’t compete with the Aggies’ depth down the stretch.
