It could be the best athletic season in Utah State school history. The Aggies’ football team had its best-ever year, winning the WAC title and finishing 11-2 with a 41-15 blowout of Toledo in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. Unfortunately, USU was so successful that head coach Gary Andersen was hired at Wisconsin to replace Bret Bielema.

So can the basketball team also win its final WAC title before heading off to the Mountain West? The Aggies have been a very successful hoops mid-major program over the years but saw a three-year NCAA Tournament streak end in 2012 when they finished 17-15 overall and landed in the CIT Tournament. USU still has just one win in the Big Dance since 1970.

San Jose State, which will also leave for the Mountain West, has made just three NCAA Tournament appearances and not since 1996. The Spartans aren’t going this year, either, barring a miracle run in the WAC Tournament.

Friday’s game is the second meeting of the season. Utah State won 66-60 in Logan on Jan. 11 as a 10-point favorite. Preston Medlin (more on him below) led the Aggies with 25 points. D.J. Brown led the Spartans with 16 points.

Utah State at San Jose State Betting Story Lines

Utah State (16-5, 7-4 WAC) looked like one of the best mid-majors in the country for a while. The Aggies started 14-1, and that 66-60 win over SJSU was its 13th straight – the only loss had come to a very good Saint Mary’s (Calif.) team. USU followed that with a four-game skid but now has won two straight. It last took the court Saturday, thumping Seattle, 68-46.  Swingman Spencer Butterfield had his fourth straight double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. USU’s zone harassed Seattle into 18-of-58 from the field overall and 2-for-20 from long range. The 46 points allowed were the fewest by Utah State since March 5, 2011.

Right now, Utah State is an NIT team with an RPI of 125 and just two total wins over the Top 150. Ten of the school’s wins are against teams at 200-plus on the RPI. Few teams have had more injury troubles than the Aggies as three returning starters are out. Forwards Danny Berger and Kyisean Reed are done for the year. Medlin, a guard, suffered a broken wrist in a Jan. 17 game against New Mexico State and is likely out the rest of this month. He led the team in scoring (16.3 points per game) and assists (3.2). Jarred Shaw now has to carry the load for the Aggies. He’s second on the team in scoring (13.5) and first in rebounding (8.4, No. 3 in WAC). Butterfield has shined since replacing Berger in the starting lineup.

San Jose State (9-13, 3-8) has lost seven straight and is among the nation’s worst shooting teams at 38.7 percent from the field. The Spartans lost 66-63 at Idaho last Saturday, a rare close game and 60-point outing for SJSU, which is 10th in the WAC in scoring.  San Jose State’s best player, James Kinney, has missed the past seven games due to an indefinite suspension for violating team rules. He leads the WAC in scoring at 20.2 ppg. He also missed that first Utah State game.

Utah State at San Jose State NCAA Basketball Betting Odds and Key Trends

Utah State is a six-point opening favorite with the total at 122.5. USU is 7-11 ATS (4-3 on road) and 4-5-1 “over/under” (2-3 on road). SJSU is 9-10 ATS (2-6 at home) and 2-9 over/under (1-3 at home).

The Aggies are 1-4 in their past five games after a win. The Spartans are 1-6 in their past seven after a loss and 0-4 ATS in their past four against teams with a winning record. The under is 11-2 in Utah State’s past 13 road games. The under is 14-2 in SJSU’s past 16 overall. The road team has covered six of the past seven meetings.

Utah State at San Jose State Picks and Betting Predictions

If you look at those under trends that date back to last season, it makes that the obvious choice. And Utah State has dominated this rivalry, winning 31 of the past 35 overall, 11 straight and four in a row at San Jose State (which hasn’t won in Logan since the 1981-82 season).

Utah State is leaps and bounds better than SJSU offensively, especially with Kinney out. I’ve seen no news that he will be returning for this one. USU head coach Stew Morrill is 17-1 all-time against SJSU. Make that 18-1. Take the Aggies, who are 13-0 this season when leading at the half and have won 79 of their past 81 games when doing so. On the flip side, they are 1-4 this season when trailing at intermission. So I’ll be sweating if that’s the case Friday night.

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Read more articles by Alan Matthews