Utah State at Louisiana Tech (+1) - 1:00pm Pacific - Game #647-648
The Bulldogs have been a consistent winner all season. They had been pure gold at home this year before losing to league power Nevada here Thursday night. They are still 7-1 at home and remain in sole possession of first place in the WAC standings. Their only other conference loss this year came at Utah State three weeks ago in a very competitive game. Louisiana Tech had a brief lead in the second half and only trailed by 3 at the 3:43 mark but went scoreless the rest of the game and lost by 9. In that game Bulldog standout F/C Paul Mislap had 20 points and 17 rebounds but just did not get much help from his teammates who went a combined 12-for-38 from the floor. The supporting cast is almost sure to do better the second time around on their home court.
Utah State is already 0-3 the second game of back to back road game situations. They played hard in loss at New Mexico State on Thursday night and this game will complete their toughest two game road trip of the season. The Aggies are only 2-3 in WAC road games to begin with. They did upset Nevada for their lone quality road win of the season, but they had six days to prepare for that one.
Utah State has a very big home court advantage. They are 11-0 there this season. On the road they become more of an average team. The fact that Louisiana Tech was competitive in first meeting is a big plus here. The change of venue and revenge situation should be plenty to reverse the outcome of the earlier meeting. The Bulldogs are also 7-0 following a loss this year. Take the small home dog.
RAS Official Play: Louisiana Tech +1.5 1 UNIT
LMU at San Francisco (-4.5) - 7:30pm Pacific - Game #685-686
The Dons have played solid basketball since the start of conference play and still appear to be improving. They are 4-3 in conference with only losses coming vs league giant Gonzaga by 9, at St. Mary's last time out in a game that was much closer than the final score indicates, and in double overtime at LMU earlier in the season. Tonight they get a good opportunity to avenge the LMU loss. That game was their second of back to back road games and they played a horrible first half to trail by 15 at intermission before rallying in the second half. USF had chances to win but missed shots both at the end of regulation and the first overtime. Head coach Jessie Evans was ejected late in the second overtime to cap a frustrating night.
I believe LMU's 5-2 record in conference play is somewhat of a mirage. They absolutely stole wins vs San Diego and USF, caught Portland on a very flat night, and beat Santa Clara with their starting center leaving the game in the first minute. LMU has dropped seven of their last eight road games and did not look good in eight point loss to crosstown rival Pepperdine last time out.
In first meeting of the season between these two, LMU won the turnover battle by a +3 margin and still barely won on their home floor. USF leads the conference in turnover margin and is a much faster, deeper, and more athletic team than LMU. With the change of venue tonight, the ball handling challenged Lions are almost sure to lose the turnover battle. The Dons perform better at home in many statistical categories and are 4-1 in their last five games here with the only loss coming vs Gonzaga. This is homecoming weekend at USF which means the crowd will be larger and livelier than usual. It all sets up for a nice spot for the Dons. Give the points.
RAS Official Play: San Francisco -4.5 1 UNIT
