NCAA Basketball Betting: Utah State vs. Hawaii Odds & Pick: January 11th 2010

Utah State vs. Hawaii
Free Pick: Utah State -18 -110 odds
January 11th 2010
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Utah St was the preseason WAC favorite, but after opening their conference schedule with two losses, they’ve got a lot of makeup work to do. The Aggies haven’t played since a 22-point blowout loss at Louisiana Tech last Monday night, and they’ve had six full days to get ready for tonight’s game. “It’s always tough when you come home from a loss and you have to wait four to five days to play again,” Aggie guard/forward Pooh Williams said. “It gives you a lot of time to get better. The coaches have been really on us in practice; everybody has been getting after it. So, I feel we have gotten a lot better this week.”

The Aggies play on a strong home court, and being back in their comfort zone should give them a nice boost tonight. “It’s really nice to be home and not have to sleep in four different hotels, be in our own beds, but we don’t have an easy task in Hawaii,” Tai Wesley said. “They’re very capable. We are not overlooking them at all.”

There are a few reasons why this selection isn’t rated stronger. Hawaii is somewhat of a bad match-up for Utah St because they are a bigger team that plays a physical style of basketball. “Their size and athletic ability jump out at you,” said USU head coach Stew Morrill when asked what concerns him most about tonight’s opponent. “They are very good on the boards, play very physical. We’ve played Hawaii enough to know they certainly are capable of beating us.”

Also is the fact that Hawaii has played in a lot of close games this season. Of their 8 losses, only one has come by more than 18 points which shows that they have ‘hang around’ capability because of their stud guard Roderick Flemings who is usually the best player on the court in the majority of WAC games. And you just don’t know what team will show up tonight. “They are a little like us right now, a little up and down,” Morrill said. “When you face a team like that, you hope to catch them on a down note, rather than an up note.”