Texas A&M vs Utah St: Preview & Prediction

Team Previews: #5 Texas A&M --  #12 Utah St

Vegas Odds: Texas A&M -3 -- Bet at bodog

Why Utah St will win: 

Utah's won 17 of 18 games, and the lone loss was a hard-fought game against a quality New Mexico St squad. Utah St doesn't run over you, but they're offense is machine-like: rarely turning the ball over and hitting a high % of 3's (2nd in the country).

Aggie to Watch:

Jared Quayle, G - 13 ppg, 6 rpg, 4 apg

After a somewhat inconsistent start to the season, Quayle has been playing well in recent weeks and is a key for the Aggies chances. He had a big game in USU's close loss to Marquette in last year's tournament and tends to show up in big games (ie, 25 in the WAC title game).

Why Texas A&M will win:

A&M's 9 losses don't look terribly impressive, but look closer and 6 of them are against Top 10 teams. The Aggies haven't had a bad loss all season, and finished winning 4 of 5, including a competitive effort against Kansas. A&M has quality on the inside & outside, and has a good enough defense to overcome cold shooting.

Aggie to Watch:

Dash Harris, G - 5 ppg, 3 rpg, 3 apg

After missing the last 2 games with an injured wrist, Harris returns here and helps round out the backcourt and take some pressure off of Donald Sloan & BJ Holmes. Harris isn't a big scorer, but his speed and defense give A&M a more diverse attack.

How it will go down:

Utah St's numbers are inflated because of their home dominance and the general mediocrity in the WAC. Away from home, USU's lone good win all season was at Nevada, and that took OT.

Betting Pick: Texas A&M

Real Pick: Texas A&M