Southern Illinois at St Louis (Over 127) - 5:00pm Pacific - Game #743-744
With a four guard starting lineup and six quality guards on the roster it is clear that Saint Louis wants to push the ball more this year.  In last game vs Hawaii the game total reached 146.  That alone indicates a big change from last year.  Only one time did a Saint Louis game reach a total of 146 in regulation all of last season (150 at Louisville).  Southern Illinois games averaged 128.3 last year and this year they are averaging 137.  They are playing worse defense and are also looking to push the ball more.  Quote from head coach Chris Lowery earlier in the season, "This year is different.  They can really run.  We will be able to get up and down."  This total is about 8-10 points off.  Play the over.

RAS Official Play:  Over 127  1 UNIT

Fresno State at Buffalo (-3.5) - 4:00pm Pacific - Game #733-734
The Bulls won 23 games last year and this year are off to their best start in 16 years at 4-1.  They are coming off back to back wins over Jackson State and Detroit in a tournament in Las Vegas.  Buffalo is led by four upperclassmen returnees including an all senior backcourt.  6-10 junior big man Yassin Idbihi is the current MAC East player of the week after averaging 19.6 points and 7.3 rebounds in three games.  Four players are scoring in double figures and sixth man Mario Jordan is not far behind at 9.6ppg.

I haven't been very impressed with Fresno State's performances so far this year.  They have trailed by significant margins in the second half of their first two games before rallying for wins.  They struggled with a horrible Cal Poly team on the road and then beat Oregon State in Fresno last time out.  Possible starting point guard Dekyron Nicks left the team for personal reasons just before the start of the season and freshman center James Tchana is currently out with injury leaving the team with primarily a seven man rotation.  Two of the seven are JC transfers and the team is also adjusting to a new head coach.  Leading scorer JaVance Coleman missed Monday's practice with a groin strain.  "It's painful as heck," Coleman said. "It had been hurting this summer, but the pain just came back now. I can't even run. I don't know how it happened."  Coleman may be limited Wednesday and head coach Cleveland said, "We will have to be careful because you never know with groin injuries."

Buffalo has won 20 of their last 22 home games dating back to the 2003-04 season.  They have a tremendous following after the success of the last two years.  Fans and players should be fired up with a big name non-conference opponent coming in.  The long trip and leading scorer Coleman at less than 100% really limits Fresno's chances here.  Give the points.

RAS Official Play:  Buffalo -3.5  1 UNIT

Southern Illinois at Saint Louis (pick) - 5:00pm Pacific - Game #743-744
I believe the Billikens are an undervalued team.  I talked at length of their potential for improvement this year in write-up on Eastern Illinois game earlier in the year.  After two games the expected progression of junior center Ian Vouyoukas is apparent.  He is averaging a team best 15.0ppg and gives the team a much needed inside scoring presence.  Touted freshman guard Tommie Liddell, called the school's best recruit since Larry Hughes, is averaging 10.5ppg and a team best 8.0rpg.  With six talented perimeter players, head coach Brad Soderberg is using primarily a four guard lineup and trying to push the tempo more than in recent years.  The undersized lineup leaves the team susceptible to strong power forwards, which was exploited by Hawaii's Julian Sensley in last game.  Soderberg, a defensive minded coach, believes some simple adjustments can be made for quick improvement.  It will help that SIU's top two inside players are both only 6-7 which makes this a favorable matchup for Saint Louis.

There are a lot of nice ways to describe SIU's loss of personnel, but the bottom line is that they are rebuilding.  Three of their top four scorers and rebounders have departed.  They do not have a single senior on the roster.  The team just returned from a disappointing trip to Alaska where they were beaten by 12 vs Monmouth and by 8 vs Division 2 Alaska-Anchorage.  They salvaged the trip with a come from behind win over a suspect Eastern Washington team the final day, needing 37 points from Justin Tatum in the process.  Through the first four games, SIU opponents are shooting .471 from the field, and have attempted almost twice as many free throws as the Salukis.  These stats are troublesome, especially considering the quality of opponents faced thus far.

SLU's schedule includes the likes of Wisc-Milwaukee, North Carolina, Ole MIss, Gonzaga, and Iowa before New Year's which adds significance to this game if they hope to avoid a losing record before conference play.  After a "fun" trip to Hawaii, the Billikens have quickly returned to all business mode for this key regional home game.  SIU is not playing well and has had little time to recover from long road trip to Alaska.  After playing three games in three days, they had to use all of Sunday just to get home.  Advantage Billikens.

RAS Official Play:  Saint Louis  pick  1 UNIT

LMU at Long Beach State (+1.5) - 8:00pm Pacific - Game #789-790
This is the deepest and most talented team that Larry Reynolds has assembled at The Beach.  They have 5 of their top 7 players back from last season, and the 5 that are back were the best players on the team at the end of the year when they won 7 of their last 8 regular season games.  Sharpshooter and leading scorer senior guard Jibril Hodges, solid all around senior forward Shawn Hawkins, former Oklahoma State transfer center Onye Obekwe (became eligible 2nd semester of last year), much improved junior point guard Kevin Houston, and impressive JC transfer guard Aaron Nixon make up a solid starting five.  Six more players are averaging in double figure minutes as this team easily goes 12 deep.  This has enabled the team to play at a much faster pace with lots of full court pressure, something that should suit them well against LMU.

The Lions continued to show weaknesses in defense, ball handling, shot making, and overall playmaking in painful overtime home loss to South Alabama.  Several favorable calls and very liberal substituting by South Alabama still were not enough to get LMU a win.  The Lions are lacking a true point guard, and top players are not producing offensively.  Guard Wes Wardrop is the only player that has shot consistently from the outside.  The rest of the team is now 10-for-48 combined behind the 3-point arc.  That just will not cut it when you are allowing opposing teams to shoot .479 overall from the field.  First year head coach Rodney Tention has not gotten this team to show any improvement from last year and after the most recent loss admitted the team is a work in progress.  Starting small forward Adoyah Miller (shoulder) was a late scratch in last game and his status is questionable tonight.  His defense and ball handling help will be missed if he doesn't play.  The Lions are badly lacking quality play and depth in the backcourt.  They are averaging 19 turnovers per game.  They struggled mightily vs Washington's pressure two games ago and should again to a lesser degree vs LBSU's new style tonight.

This is a make or break season for 4th year head coach Larry Reynolds.  They started this year with double digit losses at UNLV and at Cal, but last year returned home after a blowout loss at Charlotte to cover three straight games.  Long Beach got a confidence boost on Sunday in blowout win over Division 2 opponent San Francisco State.  They played well for 30 minutes at LMU last season and are poised for a strong effort in revenge mode tonight.

RAS Official Play:  Long Beach State +1.5  1 UNIT