San Francisco at Sacramento State (+5) - 7:00pm Pacific - Game #577-578

Good value spot for the Hornets here as they are returning home after a 36 point blowout loss at New Mexico on Sunday. They are a much better team than that and will be determined to show it tonight. I am willing to overlook the poor performance as the Lobos have one of their most talented teams in years and The Pit is always a very difficult place to play. Sacramento State's perimeter talent can compete with almost any WCC team and they will match up well with USF's guard dominated offense. Hornet senior forward Alex Bausley, the team's leading scorer, will be a tough matchup for USF's inexperienced frontline. Sacramento State has had some injury issues but the biggest concern, senior wing Clark Woods, played 22 minutes vs New Mexico and should be even stronger for this. This is the deepest team head coach Jerome Jenkins has had in his seven years here, 11 players played nine minutes or more in last game. Big Sky teams are very dangerous at home and Sacramento State is 27-13 the past four seasons at the "Hornet's Nest."

San Francisco enters this game very shorthanded. Outside shooting forward Danny Cavic, a part time starter last year, is out indefinitely with a high ankle sprain. Forward Johnny Dukes, a projected starter, is out indefinitely with a broken bone in his foot. Meanwhile, reserves Vince Polavik, Jesse Byrd, and James Morgan have been suspended for the first three games of the season. All three were expected to be part of regular rotation. That leaves the Dons with 8 players, but only 7 will see meaningful action. The lack of depth will hurt as this game figures to be fast paced. USF started a three guard lineup with freshman at both front court positions in season opener vs Sonoma State and were outrebounded by the Division I-AA opponent. USF is the type of team I like going against on the road as they do not excel on defense and typically have poor shot selection. This will be their first road game of the season and they are just 2-8 straight up in non-conference road games under Jesse Evans. Sacramento State proved they belong with this company by winning at USF last season and this is one of the few attractive home games on their schedule so they will be up for it. The Hornets have a good chance of winning this outright. There are still some +5.5's out there as of this writing. Take the points.

RAS Official Play: Sacramento State +5   1 UNIT


Return to Record Page