The Westminster Griffins get a crack at the home-state university. They visit the Utah State Aggies at 9 p.m. ET on Thursday at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum in Logan, Utah. It is one of the most difficult venues to play in, especially among mid-major programs. The contest is one of about a dozen NCAA basketball games today.
For most Division I teams, we’ve reached the softer part of the NCAAB schedule. It is not uncommon to schedule a team a division or two lower coming out of or leading into finals as a midseason exhibition to prepare teams for the rest of the season. There won’t be many Westminster Griffins picks since they are a Division II school playing up. This game also won’t count against the college basketball standings for the Griffins.
Here is what you need to know about each team before making Westminster vs. Utah State betting picks, even if they are amongst friends.
Westminster Griffins vs. Utah State Aggies Game Info and Analysis
Westminster Griffins Performance Recap and Analysis
The Griffins are one of the newer Division II NCAA basketball teams. They just completed the three-year process of being elevated in 2019. What’s remarkable is they have only been reinstated since 1999, and coach Norm Parrish is just the third coach since then.
Westminster has some former Division I college basketball players on their team. Trey Farrer transferred from Utah Valley and is the leading scorer at 17.7 points per game. Farrer stands 6 foot 9, 245 pounds, and is the top interior player. He also leads the team with 8.2 rebounds per game and 11 total blocks.
Brigham Young transfer Jeremy Dowdell is second in scoring at 11.0 points per game. Fellow Brigham Young transfer Taylor Miller is averaging 9.9 points per game and leads the team with 26 assists.
Westminster is 2-9, not counting exhibition losses to Utah and Brigham Young, and 1-3 in conference play. The Griffins were victorious on Wednesday after beating SAGU American Indian College 74-55.
Key Injuries
There is no college basketball injury report.
Betting Trends to Know
There are no college basketball betting trends for Westminster.
Utah State Aggies Performance Recap and Analysis
The Aggies are off to an 8-0 start and have dominated most of the teams they have played. That includes a 22-point win against Bradley, picked second in the talented Missouri Valley Conference, and over Oral Roberts, expected to be one of the top teams in the Summit League.
Utah State has done it with great offense. The Aggies are seventh in the country, scoring 86.0 points per game, and are the best team on the perimeter, converting 43.7% of their 3-point shots. They are 22nd in making 49.6% of field goal attempts and 49th in making 75.1% of free throws.
Defensively they allow 72.5 points per game, which ranks 266th nationally. They are, however, 73rd in holding teams to 40.3% on field goal attempts. But they are 347th, allowing teams to make 38.6% of 3-point shots.
Utah State has great rebounding numbers, grabbing 36.5 of its own to rank 38th and allowing teams to grab 29.3 per game to rank 83rd defensively.
Four Utah State Aggies basketball players are averaging double figures, led by guard Steven Ashworth, scoring 18.6 points per game, with another team-best of 4.8 assists per game. He’s making an impressive 54.4% of 3-point shots. Forward Taylor Funk is behind him at 16.3 points and a team-best 8.6 rebounds per game. Daniel Akin is third in scoring at 13.8 points and second in rebounding at 7.1 per game. Guard Max Shullga is averaging 12.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and a team-best of 1.3 steals per game.
The Aggies keep a fairly tight bench at roughly seven or eight players, but that should open up against Westminster on Thursday.
Key Injuries
Utah State’s college basketball injury report shows guard Rylan Jones is out with a concussion, and Funk is questionable with an ankle injury. That is in addition to guard Mason Falslev, who is sitting out and taking a redshirt year.
Betting Trends to Know
Utah State has been one of the better surprises of the season, at least in the oddsmakers’ eyes. The Aggies are 6-2 against the spread and 5-3 on over/under. Of course, they’ve won all five home games, too, but only 4-1 against the spread after failing to cover 18.5 points against Utah Tech in a five-point victory.
Westminster Griffins vs. Utah State Aggies Odds
There are no listed NCAAB odds for this game.
Westminster Griffins vs. Utah State Aggies Betting Picks
Here are our Westminster vs. Utah State betting picks, or at least where we’d be comfortable taking lines.
Moneyline
This is one of those games that will get out of hand in favor of the Aggies. If you can find a line or even a friendly bet, take Utah State.
Over/Under
It’s hard to guess what an over/under would be due to the talent disparity, but we’d take more than 150 due to the prolific Utah State offense, even in a game with blowout potential.
Spread
There are very rarely point spreads on these games, let alone moneylines, when schools from separate divisions are playing one another. We’d take Utah State at 30 points or even more.
Westminster Griffins vs. Utah State Aggies Score Prediction
It’s relatively easy to make Westminster vs. Utah State betting picks, which is probably why it is difficult to find any odds listings on this game. However, we took a stab at some ballpark numbers. The reality is this game will be out of hand pretty early, and Utah State will be able to use it to its advantage to reward players who aren’t rotation regulars with playing time. That may give Westminster a chance to claw back into the game late. As we’ve seen before, a team that relies on great 3-point shooting could potentially go cold and allow for an upset. But that would likely only be against the spread, as Utah State has enough depth to care for the Griffins.
NCAAB Pick: Utah State 102, Westminster 54
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