San Diego State vs Utah State Odds, Pick for Tuesday

Utah State and No. 19 San Diego State meet at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Tuesday night in a battle between the two teams tied atop the Mountain West Conference standings.

The Aggies have dropped three of their last five, including one to the Aztecs, to enter this game at 21-5 overall. Meanwhile, San Diego State has won four of five to move into contention for another regular-season conference title.

Here's San Diego State vs. Utah State odds and a pick for Tuesday.

After the trip to the national championship a year ago, coach Brian Dutcher’s program finally received the attention it deserved as one of the top schools in the country for many years.

This road trip is also a spot where the Aztecs have thrived. Since the 2013-14 season, San Diego State has a 58-35 (62.4%) record away from home in Mountain West play. Boise State has the second-best record over that span at 48-47 (50.5%).

If you bring in the rest of the country, San Diego State has the seventh-best road record in the nation since the 2009-10 campaign.

One player to watch in this matchup is Jaedon LeDee. The senior forward was named Mountain West Player of the Week last week after averaging 25 points and 4.5 rebounds per game at over 70% shooting from the field.

For the year, LeDee is first in the Mountain West in scoring (20.4 PPG) and third in rebounding (8.2 RPG), and he’ll need a big performance here for another win.

Although the Aggies have stumbled lately, this is the end of a grueling stretch of opponents in league play.

After this one, Utah State will finish off a run in which it has played four projected NCAA Tournament teams in the last five games.

Coach Danny Sprinkle’s squad enters this contest ranked 30th in the NET and projected as a 7-seed in Joe Lunardi’s recent Bracketology. A win here could confirm the Aggies' place in the Big Dance.

This has been a remarkable job by Sprinkle considering the turnover on the roster. Utah State was one of just three teams in the country returning zero points to its 2023-24 roster.

One of the key players Sprinkle brought with him from Montana State is Great Osobor. The junior forward leads the team in scoring (17.8 PPG) and rebounding (9.2 RPG).

I do not see any betting value in the 2.5-point spread for the full game, but I do see a trend that shows solid value in another market.

My best bet is for Utah State to cover the first-half spread at -2 or better. I wouldn’t lay any further than that or -130 on the moneyline in the opening period.

Utah State’s last showing was an embarrassing 20-point loss at Colorado State. This led me to see how the Aggies have responded to their other five defeats.

In the four contests following a loss, Utah State has been winning at the break on three of those occasions. The average margin at halftime in those games was +4.

Meanwhile, San Diego State has not gotten off to great starts on the road against the top teams in the Mountain West. In fact, the Aztecs have been losing at halftime in the four trips to the projected NCAA Tournament teams in the conference by an average of 4.25 PPG.

This also doesn’t include the conference opener, when San Diego State didn’t cover the first-half spread at a bad San Jose State squad.

I’m expecting a response in this spot for Utah State, especially at home with a shot to take the top spot in the conference.

Pick: Utah State 1H -2 or Better