WSU versus Utah Predictions and Pregame Discussions

[pinstripers]

I dunno where the line is; but the long trip, the high altitude, the size advantage, makes me think Utah oughta be the favorite.

[Jamar Howard 4 President]

I heard the initial line had Utah as 2.5 point favorites.

[utahman]

The Huntsman Center is almost sold out. Just single tickets in the lower bowl, around 20-30 or so, and very very few pairs of tickets in the upper bowl.

[Cdizzle]

I'm shocked. I don't remember the last time we played in front of an unusually large and rowdy sold out crowd.

[Dan]

Darius and Shaq have to stay out of foul trouble. We need these guys to play a full game, otherwise it could get ugly underneath.

[Dave Stalwart]

I'm shocked. I don't remember the last time we played in front of an unusually large and rowdy sold out crowd.

ILL St. Carmichael kick. Cle for THREE. Coaches fighting. Permanent drama.

I'm ready for tonight if that is any kind of an indicator at all. :)

We've also played in front of very large crowds at Creighton, but you couldn't tell because it was so quiet.

[utahman]

Utah hasn't had a sold out crowd yet. Our largest so far this season was 9,921. That's VERY GENEROUS, tickets sold, not actually people there.

[Dan]

I went to the Utah message board. Not only is it incredibly difficult to read, every other post is about BYU. Not sure they realize they have a game against the #8 team in the country tonight.

[utahman]

Last week, I think we had 30 students at the North Dakota game during thanksgiving break. I'm expecting all two student sections to be full, and our section for rowdy fans that aren't students, right next to the student section, has been sold out for days.

[Dave Stalwart]

Darius and Shaq have to stay out of foul trouble. We need these guys to play a full game, otherwise it could get ugly underneath.

I have this suspicion deep inside that Shaq possesses a special kind of talent that we will not always see during games he is not "UP" for. It's the games the he can mentally identify as big games that will draw out the beast. I will be very interested to see which Shaq is in the building tonight because I think we might see the beast for the first time. Shaq is the kind of guy who can do bad things to a big old 7 footer. Darius and Shaq both need to be in foul DRAWING mode and not foul COMMITTING mode.

It makes me pretty glad we had that test for our bigs against Tulsa. We had a lot of time for them to think about the fouling they struggled with.

[FlyingWheat]

******* thinks we'll win? He must be undervaluing our competition more than us:

http://espn.go.com/ncb/notebook/_/pa...203/daily-word

[_kai_]

It comes down to who has the better guards. Guard play wins this game. If the Shockers keep them under 60, we win. If not, it'll be a shootout.

I'm guessing Shox 67 - 59

[Shocker1976]

SDSU was Utah's second game and as I stated before, a very hostile road environment. If you really watched the game, you would know Utah's length and athleticism bothered SDSU as much as SDSU's may have bothered Utah. Utah had more rebounds and more blocks so your comments don't really give the full picture of what Utah brings from a size,athleticism, and defensive standpoint.

One thing I am confident of is that Utah will have the advantage in the paint and interior against WSU. WSU has some very good guards but Utah counters with all PAC-12 player and defender, Delon Wright who will likely have Baker for most of the game. Wright is 6'5" so he has the size and athleticism to slow Baker. I have seen Baker play and know how good and tough he is. That said, Wright is pretty damn good himself so it may come down to that matchup and which one of those players has the better night offensively and defensively.

Expect Utah to try to pound it inside to their bigs like Jacob Poetl, Chris Reyes, and Dallin Bachynski to try to exploit the size advantage. Poetl has struggled at the line this year but as I stated before, I think he may be there a lot tonight (if he avoids early foul trouble) and if Utah shoots over 70% at the line, I think they have a great shot at getting the win. If Uyah shoots poorly from line ala SDSU or defends the perimeter poorly, I give the Shockers the advantage.

As this a Utah home game and Utah plays pretty well at home, don't expect another shooting night as poor as what some may have seen at SDSU. Where WSU will need to try to take advantage is by forcing TO's and turning those into points. Utah has been somewhat turnover prone this season and last so that may also play a significant role in who wins this game.

I realize your post was a lot of bravado. I respect WSU as much has anyone having seen them play in person but if you thinking the Shockers win tonight by 17+, you are going to be disappointed. I think it goes to the wire and will come down to TO's, free throws, and who gets the best of the Baker/Wright matchup.

I too watched the Utah vs SDSU game and offer the following - at the point in time of that game, Utah's bigs may have been better than the Shockers bigs but the superior guard play of the Shockers coupled with the Utes proclivity for turn-overs bodes well for a Shocker victory. I have no clue what the final score will be but am looking forward to a great game.

[AZ Shocker]

I think 5 of the 10 teams currently ranked in the Top-10 would lose this game in Utah tonight.

[Shocker1976]

I think 5 of the 10 teams currently ranked in the Top-10 would lose this game in Utah tonight.

Which five?