Tag: Utah State Aggies

March Madness: Friday’s best first-round underdog picks and predictions

Beat the Sportsbook: Here’s Friday’s 3 best underdog bets for the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

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Being a proud alum of George Mason University, I know a thing or two about a Cinderella story. “By George, the dream is alive” are words that echo through my mind every year during this tournament.

Did you forget about 2022 when 15-seed Saint Peter’s went on an amazing run to the Elite 8. They took down 2-seed Kentucky, 7-seed Murray State and 3-seed Purdue before finally falling to the 8th-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels.

There will be upsets during this tournament, but when will they happen? That’s the question on everyone’s mind and what I aim to uncover here.

Below, we break down BetMGM Sportsbook’s (OR FanDuel Sportsbook’s) NCAA Tournament odds and lines and list Friday’s best 1st-round upset bets to cash in on among SportbookWire’s expert college basketball picks and predictions.

Rankings: USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

Can you survive? USA TODAY Sports’ Men and Women’s Basketball Tournament Survivor Pools are here with a $2,500 prize for each contest! Free to enter, 21+. Terms apply, void where prohibited by law. See Official Rules. Play now!

NCAA Tournament best Friday first-round underdog picks

Odds provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Thursday at 4:03 p.m. ET. All game times ET; ML = moneyline.

JAMES MADISON (+176) vs. Wisconsin – 9:40 p.m.

The Dukes are one of only 4 teams in the country to win 30 games this season. Their 31st victory came in the Sun Belt Tournament title game, 91-71 over Arkansas State. They are led by Sun Belt player of the year Terrence Edwards Jr., who averaged 17.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game. James Madison won 16 of their last 17 games, which includes a current 13 game win streak.

Wisconsin limped to the finish of the regular season, losing 3 of their last 4 games before making a run to the Big Ten Tournament title game. The Badgers were 3-9 away from Madison this season.

In the past 40 years, there have been 53 No. 12 over No. 5 seed upsets. This is crazy to think about, we’ve had as many years without a 12-over-5 upset as we’ve had 3 12-over-5 upsets in the tournament.

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UAB (+240) vs. San Diego State – 1:45 p.m.

The Blazers won their final 5 games including 3 in the American Athletic Conference Tournament to earn their ticket to the Big Dance. UAB beat  Wichita State, South Florida and then Temple in the title game 85-69. They are led by 1st-team All AAC player Yaxel Lendeborg, who averaged 13.9 points, 10.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.1 blocks per game. UAB is one of the nation’s best at drawing fouls and making free throws. They were 2-1 against Top 25 teams this season.

San Diego State was inconsistent down the stretch, going 4-4 over their final 8 games of the regular season. This team is known for playing tough defensively which could get them into foul trouble in this matchup. They are one of the best teams in the country at guarding the 3, but UAB is not known for their outside shooting. The Aztecs offense can be inconsistent which can be a problem in this tournament.

I already gave you all the stats on why we love a 12-over-5 seed in this tournament.

Stream select live college basketball games and full replays: Get ESPN+

UTAH STATE (+146) vs. TCU – 9:55 p.m.

Utah State had won 7 straight games before falling in the semifinals of the Mountain West Tournament 86-70 to San Diego State. First-team All Mountain West player Great Osobor averaged 18 points, 9.2 rebounds, 2.9 assists and shot nearly 60% from the field. He should have his way on the interior against a TCU defense which struggles in the paint. The Aggies were 2-0 against teams in the Top 25 this season.

The Horned Frogs lost 3 of their last 4 games of the regular season before falling in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament 60-45 to Houston.

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Utah State’s Kaya Ard bluntly revealed she was fired mid-press conference ahead of official school statement

Well, this is REALLY awkward.

Utah State women’s basketball head coach Kayla Ard will no longer be with the team going forward. For fans of the team, that may not be a surprise, but how that news was revealed was a bit unconventional. Ard was asked to share how she was going to rebuild next season. That’s when she dropped that she had been fired despite seemingly no known announcement at the time from the team.

The Utah State women’s basketball team has had a tough time. Under head coach Kayla Ard, they’ve only won nine games in the past two seasons and just two in the Mountain West Conference. Ard’s overall record isn’t much better, finishing 24-90 in four years. So, it’s very likely that Ard getting walking papers was always an option. However, dropping this news mid-press conference stunned everyone.

Here’s what she told a reporter who asked about rebuilding next season (See the 20:36 mark of the video link):

“I’m not going to be rebuilding. I just coached my last game at Utah State. I spoke with Diana [Sabau], and they’re going in a different direction, and I respect her decision and I hope they get a really good coach in.”

Utah State University Vice President and Director of Athletics Diana Sabau later released a statement wishing Ard well in her future endeavors, saying the team needed to make a change.

Feature image courtesy of The Mountain West Conference.

Utah State QB Levi Williams forgoing football for Navy SEAL training

Utah State QB Levi Williams will pass up football in hopes of training to be a Navy SEAL

Utah State’s Levi Williams has more football eligibility ahead of him after this season. However, the Aggies QB has decided to give up the sport in favor of training to become a Navy SEAL.

Per KSLSports.com:

“I love football and it’s so great,” Williams said. “But I knew that, eventually, it was going to come to an end.

“I just want to be in a spot where I can protect this great country where we get to play football with the freedom to do that. I think this is the best country in the world. So I’d like to keep it that way and protect it as long as I can.”

The selection process will take place in February. Williams plans to get married in March.

“This is where God’s calling me,” Williams told his wife (to be) of the decision to join the military. “Obviously, we can’t prepare for everything. There’s going to be some unexpected turns along the way. As long you trust God and trust me, I think we’re gonna be alright.”

The 6-foot-5, 230-pound Williams attended Wyoming for three years before transferring to Utah State.

He threw a pair of touchdown passes and rushed for another in a 44-41 victory over New Mexico in double overtime on Nov. 24. He accounted for 351 yards in the game.

The double-overtime victory made the Aggies bowl-eligible

‘Oh my gosh he scored’ as Utah State pulls off double-OT thrilling win

Utah State and New Mexico had their own wild conclusion

The snap was bad and the game hinged on the play.

Levi Williams and Utah State were down to New Mexico and needed a field goal to force OT or something bigger to win on third-and-10.

Williams had the poise to pick up the football and took off for the end zone.

Scott Garrard was on the call of the play that gave the Aggies a 44-41 win over the Lobos on Saturday.

Utah State’s Seni Tuiaki checks in with a thicc-six

Utah State got a thicc-six from a defensive tackle

Seni Tuiaki of Utah State checks in at a tidy 6-foot-1 and 280 pounds.

The sophomore defensive tackle may be large but he was in charge when he picked off a pass on Saturday against Nevada.

He collected the errant screen throw and rumbled 63 yards for a touchdown.

Way to go, big guy.

Utah State blocks late PAT to edge UConn, 34-33

UConn remains winless after having a PAT blocked in the final minute against Utah State

All UConn had to do was kick the PAT.

Utah State’s Ike Larsen was having none of it Saturday and blocked the extra-point attempt with 40 seconds left to preserve the Aggies’ 34-33 victory on Saturday.

The loss dropped UConn to 0-5.

An attempt at an onside kick by the Huskies failed.

Larsen had blocked three field-goal attempts in 2022.

David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Head Hawk: 10 tidbits from Kirk Ferentz’s Utah State postgame press conference

Kirk Ferentz shared thoughts with the media about his Iowa Hawkeyes after they dispatched of Utah State.

The Iowa Hawkeyes‘ 2023 season began with a 24-14 win over Utah State. It featured a couple early touchdown passes from senior quarterback Cade McNamara to sophomore wide receiver Seth Anderson and senior tight end Erick All.

The touchdown pass from McNamara to Anderson was the Hawkeyes’ first on a season-opening drive since 1991. After those opening fireworks, though, the Hawkeyes’ offense stalled out.

Iowa’s inability to keep things rolling offensively was among the game’s biggest takeaways and left some fans frustrated. But, those early offensive highlights and the return of Hawkeye football in general had social media abuzz.

Defensively, sophomore safety Xavier Nwankpa juiced the Kinnick Stadium crowd with his second career interception. Overall, a 1-0 start had Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz pleased.

Here’s 10 items that stood out from his postgame press conference.

Internet has its fun with Kinnick Stadium scoreboard troubles

After a pair of early touchdowns, the scoreboards inside Kinnick Stadium decided to act up. The internet had its fun.

The Iowa Hawkeyes appear to have fixed their offensive woes of the past several seasons.

Transfer quarterback Cade McNamara quickly ignited the Hawkeyes’ offense with a 36-yard touchdown pass to fellow transfer wide receiver Seth Anderson on the second play from scrimmage.

It was historic for several reasons.

Then, McNamara doubled down with another first-half touchdown pass to another transfer in tight end Erick All. That 3-yard connection came on fourth down.

As McNamara, Anderson and All were electrifying the crowd in attendance, they might have done the same to the scoreboards in Iowa City.

All of this offensive firepower so quickly was apparently too much for the Kinnick Stadium scoreboards to handle or keep up with.

As you might expect, social media had its fun with this development from inside Kinnick Stadium.

Kinnick Diaries: Iowa vs. Utah State Aggies Week 1 live blog

Follow along with us as we react to and update in real time the Iowa Hawkeyes’ Week 1 matchup versus the Utah State Aggies in our live blog!

Hawkeye Nation, it is officially game day!

For months we have all been waiting on this day to come. Football is back baby! It’s Week 1, with the Iowa Hawkeyes kicking it off on FS1 against the Utah State Aggies.

Live from Kinnick Stadium, Michigan transfer quarterback Cade McNamara looks to lead Iowa to a big start to their 2023 campaign. Both McNamara and the Hawkeyes are looking to return to the Big Ten championship game, where they previously met on opposite sides back in 2021.

Follow along below with our live blog, chronicling all of the action happening in real-time at Kinnick Stadium. Remember to refresh the page to keep the updates rolling in.

Iowa football sells out home opener vs. Utah State

Strike up the band! It’s going to be a party in Kinnick. The Iowa Hawkeyes’ fifth home contest is sold out as Utah State joins the list.

Add Utah State to the list of Kinnick Stadium sellouts. A day after single-game tickets went on sell, the Iowa Hawkeyes can now boast that five of their seven home dates are officially sellouts.

Iowa’s season and home opener versus Utah State on Sept. 2 joins Western Michigan (Sept. 16), Michigan State (Sept. 30), Purdue (Oct. 7) and Minnesota (Oct. 21) in the sellout category.

Iowa leads the all-time series against the Aggies, 2-0. Perhaps this a harbinger of good things to come during the 2023 season: The Hawkeyes last met Utah State on Sept. 21, 2002. Iowa thumped Utah State that day, routing the Aggies, 48-7.

More importantly, the 2002 season was one of the most memorable under Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz. Behind star quarterback Brad Banks, the Hawkeyes posted an 11-2 overall record and a perfect 8-0 mark in Big Ten play to capture the league crown.

It’s one of two times Iowa has won the Big Ten under Ferentz.

Just like a season ago, Iowa will open the year in front of a sellout crowd. Each of the Hawkeyes’ seven home dates were sellouts in 2022 and it’s tracking as though that will be the same this season.

Per Chad Leistikow of the Des Moines Register and Iowa City Press-Citizen, roughly 2,000 tickets remained as of Thursday night for the Hawkeyes’ other two home games against Rutgers on Nov. 11 and Illinois on Nov. 18.

Iowa’s opener against Utah State will also be the Hawkeyes’ Hall of Fame game, its Fry Fest Weekend and Educator Day. Iowa’s other home game themes include the Gold Out Game versus Western Michigan, its Blackout Game versus Michigan State, Homecoming versus Purdue, its ANF Black & Gold Spirit Game against Minnesota, its Military Appreciation Game against Rutgers and Senior Day versus Illinois.

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