College Basketball Picks

*Three plays Tuesday:

San Diego at Wyoming (-7.5, play to -8.5) - 6:00pm Pacific - Game #533-534

The Cowboys backed up their surprising road win at Creighton with a convincing win over Washington State at home last week. The final margin was only two points but Wyoming led by double digits for a good part of the second half including a 14 point lead with 5 minutes to play. Today leading scorer Steve Leven (20.2) is expected to return to action after missing the last five games due to a partially torn MCL. The injury did not require surgery. The Cowboys also had to play their first four games without starting guard Dion Sherrell. This will be the first time this season that Sherrell and Leven will be on the court together. Senior guard Jay Straight (16.1ppg, 5.2apg) is basically a 4 year starter and is very solid. JC transfer F/C Justin Williams has blocked 16 shots in last four games and now leads the MWC in that category. With Williams at 6-10, center Alex Dunn at 7-0, and forward Derek Wabbington at 6-9, Wyoming has plenty of size to counter San Diego's front line which is where the Toreros get most of their offense.

San Diego has had some bad losses this year, that include an exhibition loss to Division I-AA Cal Poly Pomona, a 9 point loss to Texas Arlington, and home losses to San Jose State and San Diego State by 20. They have put together a modest 3 game win streak heading into this game but all three were at home against suspect competition in Eastern Washington, Northern Arizona, and most recently over a still struggling UCSB team. The Toreros went 0-15 on the road last year and are just 1-3 this year with lone win coming at San Jose State in second meeting of the season.

Wyoming blew a 9 point lead late vs Kansas State in game played in Casper, Wyoming, or they would have four quality wins (Princeton, at Creighton, vs Wash State being the others)under their belt. San Diego has none. The Cowboys are still a perfect 4-0 here in Laramie. This team appears to be on an upswing right now which will only be helped by the return of leading scorer Leven. The Cowboys rarely lose at home under any circumstances and this is an opponent they should be able to handle comfortably. Give the points.

Official Play: Wyoming -7.5 1 UNIT

Long Beach State (+7.5, play to +6.5) at UCSB - 7:05pm Pacific - Game #539-540

The 49ers are only 2-7 straight up but are 7-2 ATS this year and have covered four straight games since losing our 2 UNIT play at LMU. They lost a heartbreaker at the buzzer to Portland before participating in the Rainbow Classic last week in Hawaii where they went 1-2, losing to eventual champion Hawaii and Georgetown. On a positive note, the team played outstanding defense, allowing just 49.3ppg and .302 field goal percentage in the three games. The Rainbow classic marked the debut of Oklahoma State transfer Onye Ibekwe who at 6-8, 254 adds some much needed muscle to the front court. It is no surprise that the defense would improve with his arrival. JC transfer forward Shawn Hawkins hit a put back at the buzzer to beat Indiana State in last game and continues to get more and more comfortable. He leads the team in scoring and minutes played while currently is second in rebounds. Starting center Anthony Coleman has been slowed by a sore shins and did not play in second game of Rainbow Classic vs Georgetown but is expected to be ready to go for conference play today. Long Beach's frontline can compete with any in the Big West and the backcourt should be able to hold its own against suspect Gaucho guards.

UCSB comes in with just a 2-5 record themselves and have been decimated by injuries all season. Top inside player Cameron Goettsche (missed 4 weeks of practice and 2 games) has been slowed by a groin injury and top perimeter player Cecil Brown (knee/ankle) has not played this year and still remains sidelined. Brown missed 6 weeks with a knee injury and had planned to come back last week vs SDSU but sprained his ankle in practice the day before the game. Two other reserves, forwards Chris Devine and David Kennedy have not played this year and remain out. The Gauchos have not looked pretty. They are shooting just .415 from the field and allowing opponents to shoot .457 while being outrebounded by a -1.0 margin. They have played two home games and were blown out here by 18 vs San Diego State and struggled to get by Montana. No one has played consistently well for the Gauchos, forward Glenn Turner (2.4ppg) and guard Joe See (8-for-34 from behind the arc) have been disappointments.

541 fans showed up for last UCSB home game vs Montana. With students still on Winter break home court advantage will be less significant than normal. Santa Barbara is really not playing well right now and 7.5 is a lot of points in what figures to be a very low scoring game. Long Beach has some favorable matchups here and should at least be able to keep this game close. Take the points.

Official Play: Long Beach State +7.5 1 UNIT

CS-Fullerton at CS-Northridge (Over 156, play to 160) - 7:05pm Pacific - Game #545-546

Oddsmakers really could not make this total high enough. Both of these teams are undersized and looking to run. CSUN games are averaging 155.5ppg but they have only had one home game and will surely have more offensive success at the Matadome. Fullerton meanwhile is coming off a 102-92 game as they finally unleashed two big time scoring threats in Ralphy Holmes (25 points last game) and Jamaal Brown (29 points last game). Both players were ineligible during the first semester. They struggled in their first game at SDSU but really put on a show last time out. Fullerton has some big time scoring talent but did not play much defense in last game allowing Denver to shoot 63% for the game. The Titan interior defense leaves a lot to be desired. They went to a zone in the second half and looked confused and out of position giving up several easy baskets. They play loose defense as they can ill afford any type of foul trouble. Both teams prefer an up tempo style and I see no reason why this game will not get into the 160's or beyond.

Official Play: Over 156 2 UNITS (Play 2 UNITS to 160, 1 UNIT to 164)