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The 10-seed Utah State Aggies (26-8) face the 7-seed Missouri Tigers (24-9) Thursday in a first round South Region game in the NCAA Tournament. Tip-off from Golden 1 Center in Sacramento is scheduled for 1:40 p.m. ET (TNT). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Utah State vs. Missouri odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Utah State caught fire at the end of the season, but came up just short in the Mountain West Tournament title game against San Diego State. Still, the Aggies won and covered their final 5 regular-season games, and 8 of the final 10 contests.
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The Aggies were 3-4 straight-up (SU) and against the spread (ATS) in 7 games against NCAA Tournament teams, including 2 wins over conference rival Boise State and another against Oral Roberts in the non-conference schedule.
Missouri picked up a win over Tennessee in the SEC Tournament, before bowing out against Alabama. The Tigers also racked up regular-season resume bolstering wins over Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa State, Kentucky, Mississippi State, SE Missouri State and, again Tennessee, all NCAA Tournament teams.
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Utah State vs. Missouri odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Wednesday at 5:53 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Utah State -125 (bet $125 to win $100) | Missouri +105 (bet $100 to win $105)
- Against the spread (ATS): Utah State -1.5 (=108) | Missouri +1.5 (-112)
- Over/Under (O/U): 155.5 (O: -112 | U: -108)
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Utah State vs. Missouri picks and predictions
Prediction
Missouri 82, Utah State 78
Moneyline
MISSOURI (+105) is a solid play at plus-money on the moneyline. This Tigers team has an impressive offense, and they have very few weak spots on the offensive attack. The defense could be a little better, and the lack thereof will help Utah State (-125) in the game.
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Against the spread
MISSOURI +1.5 (-108) is only worth playing, instead of the moneyline, if you feel that Utah State -1.5 (+100) is going to win by exactly 1 point. If not, just play Mizzou straight up.
While USU is 16-5 ATS in the last 21 neutral-site games, and 7-1 ATS in the last 8 games overall, the Aggies are 0-4 ATS in the last 4 NCAA Tournament appearances. Mizzou is 5-1 ATS in the last 6 neutral-site contests, too.
Over/Under
OVER 155.5 (-112) is the lean, as both of these teams can roll up huge points, while neither is particularly strong at the defensive end of the floor.
Utah State has posted 79.1 PPG this season, while hitting 48.6% from the field, while knocking down 40.0% from behind the 3-point line. The Aggies are strong from the free-throw line, too, hitting 77.0%, so they don’t leave a lot of points on the floor.
The Aggies are subpar defensively, allowing 70.0 PPG, and it allowed 35.6% from behind the arc, which was in the bottom third in the country.
Mizzou has racked up 80.1 PPG this season, while hitting 47.7% from the field. It is also a solid free-throw shooting team, going for 75.6% from the line. Defensively, it allowed 74.8 PPG, while allowing teams to hit 35.5% from the perimeter.
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