Utah State Aggies vs New Mexico Lobos Prediction, 1/8/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Utah State Aggies vs New Mexico Lobos

Date: Friday, January 8, 2021

Location: Dreamstyle Arena in Albuquerque, NM

TV: FS1

Odds/Point Spread: Utah State (-14)

The New Mexico Lobos (3-5) play the Utah State Aggies (8-3) at Dreamstyle Arena on Friday. Utah State opens this contest as 14-point favorites. The O/U is set at 138.5.

Utah State comes into this contest with a record of 8-3 this season. They are turning it over 13.3 times per game and as a squad they commit 15.6 fouls every game. As a unit, Utah State is snagging 41.2 boards per contest and has accounted for 175 assists this season, which is 31st in the nation in terms of passing. The Aggies are connecting on 33.0% on shots from downtown (69 of 209) and 71.6% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 77.4 pts per contest (95th in the nation) while hitting 46.2% from the field. On the defensive end, the Aggies are forcing 15.8 turnovers every game while drawing 18.3 fouls. They are surrendering 33.7% on 3-pointers and they are 31st in college hoops in points per game allowed (61.8). The Aggies defense is giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 38.7% (237 of 612) and they concede 30.0 boards per game as a basketball team. They are currently ranked 224th in the nation in allowing assists to the opposition with 123 surrendered on the campaign.

The Utah State Aggies faced off with the New Mexico Lobos and walked away with a win by a score of 77-45 in their last contest. Utah State walked away from the contest having earned a 49.1% FG percentage (28 out of 57) and converted 4 of 16 shots from beyond the arc. From the charity stripe, the Aggies converted 17 of 21 attempts for a rate of 81.0%. When talking about getting rebounds, they earned 38 with 10 of them being of the offensive variety. They also doled out 16 dimes in this matchup while earning 7 steals and 11 rejections. When discussing defense, Utah State allowed the other team to shoot 49.1% from the field on 28 of 57 shooting. New Mexico recorded 5 dimes and had 7 steals for the game. In addition, the Lobos pulled down 28 rebounds (8 offensive, 20 defensive) and got 11 rejections. New Mexico finished the contest at 71.4% at the free throw line by making 10 of their 14 attempts. They also converted 5 out of their 21 tries from beyond the arc.

Neemias Queta is a player who was a contributor in the matchup. He walked away with 18 points on 9 of 10 shooting. He was on the court for 30 minutes and also snagged 6 rebounds. Queta finished the game at 90.0% from the floor and dished out 2 assists. Someone else that was a major factor in this contest for the Aggies was Marco Anthony. He collected 5 boards and had 3 dimes. He shot 54.5% from the floor in the matchup by shooting 6-of-11 (15 points). When the final whistle blew, Anthony played for 35 min.

New Mexico has a win-loss mark of 3-5 this year. On the offensive side of the court, the Lobos are hitting on 40.7% from the field, which is 303rd in Division 1. New Mexico has scored 544 pts so far this season (68.0 per game) and they collect 41.6 rebounds per game. They are earning an assist 11.8 times per game (279th in Division 1) and they are turning it over 14.6 times per game. The Lobos are committing 16.5 fouls per contest and they connect on 59.0% from the charity stripe. The Lobos on defense are ranked 235th in D-1 in PPG given up with 72.4. The New Mexico defense gives up 35.0% on shots from distance (71 of 203) and their opponents are converting on 73.9% of their free throw attempts. They have conceded 14.3 assists and 33.3 total boards per game, which is ranked 255th and 91st in those defensive categories. They are forcing 13.0 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 43.3% from the field (204th in college basketball).

When they last played, the New Mexico Lobos took a loss by a final score of 77-45 when they played the Utah State Aggies. The Lobos snagged 20 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive rebounds for a total of 28 in this contest. They stuffed 5 shots while earning 7 steals for the game. The Aggies committed 12 fouls in this matchup which took the Lobos to the free throw line for 14 tries. They were able to bury 10 of the free throw tries for a clip of 71.4%. When it comes to 3-point attempts, New Mexico buried 5 out of 21 tries (23.8%). When the game finished, the Lobos ended up going 15 out of 56 from the field which gave them a rate of 26.8%. The Lobos permitted the Aggies to make 28 of their 57 attempts from the floor which left them with a rate of 49.1% in this game. They finished 25.0% from beyond the perimeter via 4 out of 16 and ended up going 17 of 21 from the free throw line (81.0%). In the matter of rebounding, New Mexico permitted Utah State to grab 38 in all (10 on the offensive glass).

Keith McGee was important for the Lobos for this contest. He converted 4 of 7 in the game giving him a rate of 57.1%, which had him finishing with 10 points. McGee grabbed 2 rebounds in his 20 minutes and accounted for 2 dimes in this contest. Someone else that ended being a contributor for New Mexico was Saquan Singleton. He accumulated 9 points in 19 minutes on the hardwood by way of 3 of 8 from the floor in the matchup. Singleton ended the game having shot 37.5% from the floor as well as contributing 2 assists and 2 total rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Utah State (-14)

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