Idaho State Bengals vs Wyoming Cowboys Prediction, Odds, Best Bets - Week 1
Idaho State lost its opener by 36 on the road. Wyoming won its opener by 47 at home. Laramie offers the Bengals no break at all.
The Matchup
Idaho State visits Wyoming on Friday night at Arena-Auditorium in Laramie, on MW+, with Wyoming a 19.5-point favorite and a total of 147.5. Idaho State is 0-1 after a rough road opener. Wyoming is 1-0 after a home rout.
Last season Idaho State finished 13-20, scoring 74.5 points a game and allowing 76.2. Wyoming finished 18-15, scoring 76.9 and allowing 73.0. Last season's lines are still the frame for both teams this early. The early returns this season have widened the gap the profiles suggested, not narrowed it.
Idaho State lost 94-58 at Utah State on Monday, and the box score is worse than the score. The Bengals shot 35 percent, went 3-of-25 from three, and were outrebounded 48-25. Wyoming beat Regis 95-48 at home, shooting 55 percent with 19 assists and only 9 turnovers. One team is looking for its first decent half of the season. The other is playing at home again, in one of the highest and hardest buildings in the country for a visitor.
Key Factors
Wyoming's balance and ball security are the cover mechanism. Khaden Bennett scored 15 points with 6 rebounds against Regis, Parker Gerrits added 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting, Nasir Meyer scored 11, and Mike Mora chipped in 10 points with 4 steals.
The Cowboys outrebounded Regis 41-23 and turned the ball over just 9 times. A home favorite that shares the scoring, protects the ball, and controls the glass does not need a career night from anyone to build a 20-point margin. It needs the visitor to keep missing, and Idaho State just missed everything.
The Bengals' shooting is the number that decides this game. Going 3-of-25 from three at Utah State was not just cold, it was the kind of cold that lets a defense pack the paint and dare the visitor to keep firing. Idaho State finished with 8 assists against 15 turnovers, and Utah State scored at will in the paint. Wyoming's defense, at home, with a crowd behind it, can copy that plan exactly, and the Bengals are playing their second straight road game of the opening week to face it.
The counterpoint is that Wyoming's evidence is thin in the other direction. Regis is a lower-division opponent, so the Cowboys' rout proves depth more than quality, and Idaho State has players who competed at Utah State: MaCarhy Morris scored 15 points with 5 assists, and Kenyon DeMuynck added 14 points with 3 steals and 3 blocks.
If the Bengals' threes fall at even a normal rate, 19.5 is a big ask. The bet is that a team outrebounded by 23 in its opener, traveling again, does not fix its shooting and its glass work in the same week, at altitude, in Laramie.
Idaho State could not shoot, rebound, or slow anybody in its opener, and now it walks into a tougher building on the same road trip. Wyoming shares the ball and defends its floor too well for a struggling visitor. Lay the points with Wyoming Cowboys -19.5 at -102.
Game Information
| Date | Friday (11/6) |
|---|---|
| Start Time | 7:30 PM CT |
| How to Watch | MW+ |
| Venue | Arena-Auditorium, Laramie |
| Spread | Wyoming Cowboys -19.5 |
| Total | 147.5 |
| Moneyline | Wyoming Cowboys -3,200 |
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