The Fresno State Bulldogs are heating up at the right time of the year, having won nine straight and knocking off San Diego State to win the Mountain West and a berth into the NCAA Tournament. Now they face their toughest test yet when they play the Pac-12 runner-up, the Utah Utes.
College Basketball Odds at BookMaker.eu
Fresno St Bulldogs +9.5 -115
Utah Utes -9.5 -105
Over/Under 142.5
HOW THE UTAH UTES CAN COVER THE SPREAD
The Utes have one of the finest big men in all of college basketball in Jakob Poeltl. Poeltl leads the Utes in points with 17.5 PPG and rebounds with 9.1 RPG and was the reason that Utah reached the Pac-12 Title Game in the first place.
He dominated California in the semifinals, ripping the Golden Bears for 29 points and 11 rebounds. Poeltl is one of the most efficient scorers in basketball and has hit two out of every three shots in his career.
Utah has balance as well with a deadly duo on the perimeter in Jordan Loveridge and Lorenzo Bonam. Bonam is hitting 50 percent of his field goals, while Loveridge is knocking down 40 percent of his three point attempts. Their ability to hit outside shots gives Utah an inside outside combo that keeps teams from collapsing on Poeltl.
HOW THE FRESNO STATE BULLDOGS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
If Fresno State hopes to pull off the upset it has to take advantage of its biggest strength against Utah, the ability to create turnovers. The Bulldogs are one of the top five teams in the country in turnover margin and also one of the best when it comes to steals, where they average 8.2 per game.
The good news for Fresno State is this was an area that Utah really struggled in against Oregon who had 13 steals against the Utes and forced 20 Utah turnovers in a blowout win.
Marvelle Harris won the Mountain West Player of the Year award by averaging 22.7 points in conference play and leading the conference in assists and steals. Harris rarely sits, playing over 38 minutes in MWC play, and is the leader of the Bulldogs.
He doesn't make shots at a great clip, but he is a volume scorer and can create chances when needed.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
The Utes had won nine straight before falling to Oregon on Saturday night and covered seven of those nine games. Utah also saw all three of its Pac-12 conference tournament games go over the total, in line with a team that saw 18 of its 31 games all season go over the total.
Fresno State has covered its last six games and eight of its last nine, including winning four games outright as an underdog. They are as hot as hot gets at this time of the season. The Bulldogs have been a great team to bet the over with away from home with 11 of their 16 non home games combining to go over the closing total.
Turnovers are the key here, but Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak has drilled ball security into his team's mind since the loss to Oregon. Utah is a better team in every other facet of the game and although Fresno State has had a great run, it won't be able to keep up.
Lots of pundits are putting Utah on upset alert but that is usually a sign to go the other way. Lay the points with Utah here and look for the Utes to win by 15+.
Utah 82, Fresno St 64
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