Nevada -6Nevada has won 13 in a row! Only 3 haven't been by more than 6, and 2 of those 3 were against formidable opponents in Washington and Hawaii. La Tech was on a 4 game losing streak, but has now put on a nice little streak of 3 in a row. Nevada is 8-2 against La Tech in the last 10 meetings. I don't think being on the road will bother Nevada, as they have won 5 straight on the road. La Tech boasts a decent home record, but it is important to note that during that recent 4 game losing streak, 3 losses came at home. I don't think La Tech can keep up offensively with Nevada because Nevada will make it tough to score with their defense. Nevada is on a roll right now and I am basically betting that La Tech can't break it. If they do, kudos to them. The 6 point juice is kind of high but, as I said, they have won by more than 6 in 10 of their 13 during this run.
Saint Mary's +3.5Granted this will be a tough atmosphere to play in, how do you not pick a team that is a two possession underdog after having won 18 of 19 games (with the loss coming to top 10 Baylor) and has already beaten this upcoming opponent by 16 earlier this year? BYU did a great job stealing a 2 point victory at Va Tech in their last game, but I don't think that justifies them being favored over St. Mary's. Many people will say that BYU is at home and that should be a huge factor. To those people, I would say that the last time BYU was at home, they lost by 14 to Loyola Marymount, who just happens to be a team that St. Mary's just beat on the road by 7. Of course, the atmosphere will be wilder this time around, but I think the Gaels are just too talented not to win this one. Both teams score close to 80 a game, with the edge going to BYU offensively. However, the Gaels hold their opponents to just 60 while BYU is at 65. St. Mary's leads most major categories, trailing in rebounding by just a rebound per game. In their earlier meeting, the Gaels had 2 players with double doubles with Dellavedova (18 points, 12 assists) and Jones (24 points, 15 rebounds). They also outrebounded the Cougars by 6 and shot almost twice their free throws (30 to 16). I can see the same type of game happening here, and even if they manage to lose they should be able to keep it close enough to cover.
Montana State +9.5Montana State has won 6 of 7, including 4 in a row. Eastern Washington has lost 6 of 8, including 4 in a row. Yet Montana State is a 10 point underdog? Here's why...before the Bobcats went on this nice 6 of 7 streak, they lost at home to the Eagles by 16. I don't see anything on the injury report (tell me if I'm wrong) so that has to be the only reason. Montana State won both meetings last year so it's not like Eastern Washington owns them or anything. Montana State is just 5-5 away but EWash is just 5-3 at home, including losing 2 straight in their own house. Montata State has now won 2 straight away from home. If you look at the previous meeting, EWash came out on fire and led the whole way. They shot 50% from the field in that game to Montana State's 39%. Considering they only average 41%, I doubt that happens again (Mont. St averages 44% btw). If Montana State protects the 3 point line, which is Eastern Washington's bread and butter, then Montana State has a chance to win this game, let alone cover. I'm picking the Bobcats here in a revenge game while they are red hot against a team that is going in the opposite direction. 9.5 points!? Something's fishy about that line but I'll take it!
USC/Utah over 106In the words of Charles Barkley, this game is TURRIBLE!!! Two of the shittiest teams in the major conferences showdown. Combined, they average 110 points per game, while giving up 130 per game. Yet this total is at 106, an pretty low number. I'm not going to go into stats from past seasons on this one, as that would be disrespectful to those teams to be associated with what we have here. Utah hasn't had any total go under 106 all year, so if it does, then it will be all USC's fault. I don't know how USC has had games with the point total in the 80s and 90s, but considering that Utah usually refuses to play defense, I think even these Trojans should be able to "score" like Trojan Maaaan. Can't believe I'm suckered into taking this over but I can't help but feel confident in it.
There go my write-ups. I decided to go over in the Louisville/Seton Hall game instead of choosing Denver. As you can see, I added Kansas and Akron.
I know it is a lot of plays and I probably won't ever do this many again, but I just really liked these plays. I know some of these will lose but I don't mind losses as long as I made my bets using sound reasoning.
BOL to everybody today! Feel free to fade away...
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