BYU Basketball opens as two-point favorite over Utah State

BYU Basketball will have one of the most important games of the season tomorrow when they head to Salt Lake City to take on the Utah State Aggies.

Vegas sees a close game, opening with BYU as a 2-point favorite over the Aggies in Vivint Smart Home Arena. KenPom gives BYU a 52% chance to win and predicts a 74-73 final score.

Utah State is 10-1 on the season and has spent the majority of the season in the top 25. They own a neutral site win over LSU and lost a close one at St Mary’s. They’ve spent the majority of the season without star sophomore center Neemias Queta, who suffered a knee injury during the offseason, but made his season debut last Saturday versus Fresno State and is expected to play versus BYU.

Senior guard Sam Merrill is the reigning MWC player of the year and the Aggies’ most important player. He averages 17.6 ppg and shoots 42.6% from the field and 45.% from three. Outside of Merrill, Utah State has an experienced team that made the NCAA tournament as an eight seed last season. They also boast 3 players at least seven feet tall, so BYU will need to be strong on the boards.

This is BYU’s last chance for a quality non-conference win; a win would give them a solid resume to go along with wins over Houston, UCLA, Virginia Tech and Nevada.