College Basketball Predictions

*Two plays Thursday:

San Francisco (+5) at Portland - 7:00pm Pacific - Game #737-738

USF has been battling some minor injuries and have had some incredibly tough losses. They suddenly have found themselves amidst a four game losing streak. Point guard Andre Hazel has been bothered by an early season sprained knee and more recently third leading scorer Jerome Gumbs has battled through a sore ankle. Gumbs had a career high 27 in first meeting vs Portland but has shot just 10-for-39 in last 5 games. Portland took USF to OT in San Francisco, but the Dons were fresh off a huge win over Gonzaga, had foul trouble, and did not play nearly their best game although still managed to win. The good news for USF is they have had a full 8 days in between games to freshen up, rest injuries, and prepare for this weekends games. In their last three road games, USF has won at Santa Clara, should have won at St Mary's, and came close to winning at San Diego despite double digit halftime deficit. Three of Portland's top four scorers and four regulars in all are from the Los Angeles area. They were excited to play in last weeks road trip at LMU and at Pepperdine and performed better than usual in both games. They may actually have a letdown in their return home. I watched this team in person for the second time this season Saturday vs Pepperdine. They still do not impress me much. This figures to be a close game either way. Plus points at the end will be at a premium.

Official Play: San Francisco +5 1 UNIT

UCLA at Cal (-2) - 7:30pm Pacific - Game #743-744

Cal is finally getting healthy. Head coach Ben Braun this week declared his team as healthy as it has been all season. Leading scorer and point guard Richard Midgely has played in last four games after missing significant playing time with a shoulder injury. He started for the first time since comeback in last game. Backcourt mate Ayinde Ubaka has played in last 8 games after missing 10 games with a foot injury. These two are starting to recapture the chemistry that looked so promising early in the season. Cal has won 4 of its last 6 games with only losses coming at Arizona and at Stanford. The loss last week at Stanford was a better performance than the final score indicates. UCLA has lost 5 of 8 and all 3 wins in that span have come against the 7th, 8th, and 10th place teams in the Pac-10. UCLA's freshman heavy lineup could be wearing down physically and mentally as the regular season winds down. Cal led throughout in first meeting at Pauley Pavilion as they implemented a zone defense that held UCLA to just 18 first half points and only 51 for the game. Cal looks to be playing the better basketball of the two teams right now and should take care of business here on their home court.

Official Play: California -2 1 UNIT