Portland at LMU (-2.5) - 7:00pm Pacific - Game #541-542

Loyola Marymount returns home for their final homestand of the season and parents weekend festivities.  Guard Brandon Worthy ranks top 5 in the WCC in steals, assists, and field goal percentage.  He returned three games ago from a long absence due to midseason knee surgery.  He has averaged 13.5ppg in last two outings and figures to get better each game as he gets his legs and timing back.  The Lions are 2-1 since his return and in both wins held their opponents under 50 points.  LMU is now 9-4 with Worthy in the lineup including 5-1 in home games with only loss coming to nationally ranked Washington.  Portland comes into this game with an 0-5 record in league road games and an average losing margin of 16.8 points.  They are only averaging 63ppg in league road games and that is boosted by an OT game at USF and a high scoring affair at Gonzaga.  Portland ranks last in the WCC in rebounding margin (-7.2 in conference games).  Not a sign of a good team.  I like the way LMU has played of late.  They lead the league in steals and assists while ranking second in scoring defense.  With Worthy back in the mix the offense will be improved.  Expect a solid win for the home team.

 

RAS Official Play:  LMU -2.5  1 UNIT

 

UC Riverside at Long Beach State (-3) - 7:30pm Pacific - Game #549-550

The 49ers have had some key injuries and have gotten no favors from a schedule that has seen them play 14 of their 21 games away from the Pyramid.  They have only had four conference home games and incidentally all were against the top four teams in the conference standings.  They lost to Pacific by just 8 here, CSUN by 4, and beat Idaho back on January 27th.  In recent road trip they gave a major scare to CSUN losing by 2 in a very tight game.  Second semester addition sophomore center Onye Ibekwe (transfer from Oklahoma State, brother of Maryland's Ekene) is emerging as a force on both ends of the floor.  He has averaged 9.5ppg & 7.4rpg in conference play and has scored double figures in last two games.  JC transfer forward Shawn Hawkins remains a top notch around player.  UC Riverside is 0-5 in conference road games and 1-8 on the road overall.  They got their first road win of the season in last game at UC Davis (first year Division 1 team).  They are now 3-20 in road games dating back to last season.  Prior to that UCR lost to a 4-16 Cal Poly team by 9 and were blown out vs Fullerton by 21, both games played in Riverside.  Long Beach fell short in the first meeting by only 3, but UCR has gone down hill since then and change of home court alone is enough to turn the tables.  This will be just the second time all season Long Beach is in the role of a favorite.  The first being an easy win and cover over Sacramento State early in the season.  Long Beach plays 6 of their next 8 at home.  They are hungry for wins and still have a fair chance of landing a spot in the Big West tournament.  The 49ers are also expected to regain the services of guard Keion Kindred (ankle/academics) who has missed the last 8 games.  He adds some much needed depth to the backcourt.

 

RAS Official Play:  Long Beach State -3  1 UNIT