Jarred DuBois scored 20 points and the Utes used its massive height advantage to good use in an easy win over Central Michigan in the Utah Thanksgiving Tournament victory at Salt Lake City on Friday. The Utes will try to make it a clean sweep in its own tourney which concludes Saturday against Wright State.
Wright State rebounded from a narrow loss to cruise past Idaho State on Friday. The suffocating Raidersâ?? defense limited Idaho State to just nine field goals in the complete performance. Wright State is one of the lowest scoring teams in the nation but its defense has led it to a 4-1 start. It has yet to surrender over 70 points in a game this season.
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, No TV.
ABOUT WRIGHT STATE (4-1): The Raiders kept Central Michigan off the scoreboard for a five-minute stretch near the end of Fridayâ??s game but couldnâ??t make up a late 10-point deficit. Wright State scored eight straight points, pulling within 57-55 when JT Yoho hit a layup with 27 seconds left but the Chippewas managed to put the game away at the line. The Raiders got 16 points from Miles Dixon and 11 from Matt Vest to pull away from Idaho State on Saturday, holding a foe under 50 points for the third time this season.
ABOUT UTAH (3-1): DuBois, a Loyola Marymount transfer, had five rebounds and five assists without committing a turnover to cap an impressive all-around performance against Central Michigan. The Utah defense held CMU to 26 percent shooting from beyond the arc and 30 percent from the field. Meanwhile, Utah shot 49 percent from the field, its best of the season, and was also won the battle on the boards by nine. Utahâ??s inside game forced the Chippewas to play from the perimeter, where they took 31 3-point shots.
TIP-INS
1. Wright State outrebounded Idaho State 30-27.
2. A crowd of 7,599 watched Friday’s game.
3. Utah kept CMU without a field goal for over 12 minutes in the second half.
PREDICTION: Utah 80, Wright State 61
