Utah vs. Fresno State March Madness Preview

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Utah finished as the second-best team in the Pac-12 this year, and thats good enough for a three seed in this years NCAA tournament. The Utes have played one of the nations toughest schedules this season, and are 19-8 against the RPI top 100. Watch out for Austrian sophomore forward Jakob Poeltl, who scored 29 in the teams Pac-12 tournament semifinal against Cal. The seven-footer wont have to carry the squad, as Utah has a pair of senior guards in the backcourt in Jordan Loveridge and Brandon Taylor.

Fresno State won the Mountain West Conference tournament, and enter the Madness on a nine-game winning streak. The Bulldogs’ only impressive wins were a sweep of San Diego State this year, but they played Oregon to a single-digit loss on the road back in November.

Here’s a look at the matchup and game details.

REGION: Midwest

DATE: Thursday, March 17

TIME: 7:27 p.m. Eastern

TV CHANNEL: TruTV

POINT SPREAD: TBD. Click here for more March Madness betting info from Heavy’s partners at OddsShark.

LIVE STREAM INFO: CBS offers live streams of every game on March Madness Live. For games on TNT, TBS or TruTV a cable login will be required.

UP NEXT: Seton Hall/Gonzaga


Utah at a Glance

RECORD: 26-7 (13-5 Pac-12)

LOCATION: Salt Lake City, Utah

CONFERENCE: Pac-12

COACH: Larry Krystkowiak

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Jakob Poeltl (17.8 PPG, 9.1 RPG, 1.6 BPG, .656 FG%), Jordan Loveridge (11.8 PPG, 4.0 RPG), Brandon Taylor (9.6 PPG, 3.9 APG, 1.5 SPG)


Fresno State at a Glance

RECORD: 25-9 (13-5 MWC)

LOCATION: Fresno, California

CONFERENCE: Mountain West

COACH: Rodney Terry

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Marvelle Harris (20.6 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 4.4 APG, 2.2 SPG), Torren Jones (10.5 PPG, 7.9 RPG, .520 FG%), Karachi Edo (9.9 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 1.6 BPG, .546 FG%)