Temple (-1) vs St Joseph's - 3:30pm Pacific - Game #751-752
My key concern about the Owls before the A-10 tournament was their health. Starting guard Dustin Salisbury and starting center Wayne Marshall both sat out the final regular season game of the season with injuries. However, both have started, played significant minutes, and looked good doing so in first two A-10 tournament wins. Head coach Cheney just recently stated that he felt this team would be one of the best he has had in a long time and they are finally playing like it. After throttling Rhode Island by 29, Temple knocked off nationally ranked George Washington by 15. Both wins came despite leading scorer Mardy Collins scoring just 6 and 5 points respectively, his two lowest totals of the season. That is a testament to the quality of defense and all around team ball that Temple has played. In the two meetings between these two this year Temple lost by 2 on the road and won by 13 at home but in both games clearly looked like the superior team. The Redhawks have been hot, winning 7 straight games, and that is why this line is near even, but they beat only one quality opponent (at Xavier) during the streak. Temple has had strong NCAA tournament aspirations all season long and they will move one game closer to the automatic birth with a win here.
RAS Official Play: Temple -1 1 UNIT
UNLV vs San Diego State (-4.5) - 6:00pm Pacific - Game #771-772
Despite winning the Mountain West regular season title with a 13-3 record, the Aztecs are not getting much respect from either pollsters or oddsmakers. Their non-conference record and RPI ranking is somewhat misleading because they played the first 10 games of the season without Florida transfer Mohammad Akubar. Akubar now starts at center and had provided a potent third scoring option behind mainstays forward Marcus Slaughter and guard Brandon Heath. Heath is having his best year thanks to much improved shot selection and maturity. He is averaging the same number of points as last year but has improved his shooting percentage considerably. UNLV lost senior guard Michael Umeh several games back and more recently lost starting guard Jason Petrimoulx. Umeh was second on the team in scoring and Petrimoulx was fourth while leading the team in assists. He was also arguably the teams best perimeter defender. Meanwhile, leading scorer and rebounder Louis Amundson is playing at about 70% on a bad ankle. Still not sure how UNLV advanced past New Mexico in round one. The Rebels trailed just about the entire game but took advantage of UNM missed free throws and miscues down the stretch to steal a one point win. SDSU won both meetings this year by double digits and that was when UNLV was healthier. They should not have much trouble advancing here and improving their NCAA resume in the process. Give the points.
RAS Official Play: San Diego State -4.5 1 UNIT
Oregon vs California (-3) - 8:45pm Pacific - Game #769-770
The Bears have played very during the second half of the season. Last nights win over an underrated USC team was very impressive and gave Cal its 9th win in last 12 games. They are also as close to 100% healthy as they have been all season. Reserve forward Rod Benson has returned from a seven game absence to see significant minutes in last five games. Starting point guard Ayinde Ubaka and starting wing Omar Wilkes have also fully recovered from ankle injuries suffered in February. Oregon has survived through the first two rounds thanks to red hot shooting by guard Chamberlain Oguchi. He scored 20+ in first half vs Washington State and 20+ in second half vs Washington. They could have easily lost both games without him getting hot but Cal's defense is sure to be ready for him. The Ducks are already playing without starting guard Bryce Taylor due to injury and now will be without starting point guard Aaron Brooks for at least one game due to a flagrant foul last night. Brooks leads the team in assists and is second in scoring. This will be Oregon's third game in three days and only Cal's second in two days. Advantage Bears. Cal was considered somewhat of a bubble team coming into the tournament and seem to be playing with a purpose here. Give the points.
RAS Official Play: California -3 1 UNIT
