Troy (+6) at Arkansas State - 5:00pm Pacific - Game #627-628
Neither of these teams have been anything to write home about lately, but I have received word that ASU leading scorer Adrian Banks will almost certainly not play tonight due to a high ankle sprain suffered late in the second half vs Denver Thursday night. Banks is a prolific and efficient scorer (20.0ppg & .487 FG%), is second on the team in rebounds, and leads the team in steals. Troy leads the Sun Belt in three pointers made per game and Arkasnas State ranks dead last in 3-point FG% defense which makes this an even more favorable matchup for the Trojans. Once the status of Banks is made public this line will drop below +4. Take the points.

Play: Troy +6  1.0 UNIT |  WIN 89-80
Long Beach State (pick) at UC Riverside - 7:00pm Pacific - Game #667-668
Dan Monson gets my early vote as Big West coach of the year. The 49ers have to be one of the most improved teams in the country over the past 4-6 weeks. Fresno State transfer Donovan Morris averaged 12.8ppg through first six games but has erupted to average 21.7ppg in last nine games making himself a candidate for Big West player of the year. Athletic combo guard Plater is proving to be one of the top freshman in the league. The recent increased playing time of JC transfer Gallow and improvement of JC transfer Clady has resulted in better ball handling and less turnovers, which plagued the team early in the season. LBS is among conference leaders in defense and rebounding. Starting guard Artis Gant (knee) is expected to return from an 8 game absence today and will be available off the bench. Despite UCR playing one of their best games of the season Wednesday night vs CSUN, they are still a big play against for me. Top player Larry Cunningham again played limited minutes Wednesday and struggled from the field going 2-for-8. UCR's home court advantage will again be very minor. Long Beach is the better team and has had a full week off to prepare. Take the road team.

Play: Long Beach State   PICK |  LOSS 66-70
UC Irvine at Pacific (-7.5) - 7:00pm Pacific - Game #677-678
The Tigers are coming off an impressive win over Cal State Fullerton. They led almost wire to wire and the game was never in question in the second half despite some red hot 3-point shooting from the Titans. Pacific is now 3-1 in Big West play without a home loss. After playing the two most athletic teams in the conference Pacific should welcome a slower UC Irvine team with open arms. The Anteaters lost starting forward Adam Rodenberg (injury/personal) early in the season and recently have been without two of their more athletic guards Awaji and Harris due to academic/personal issues. Both had been competing for starting jobs. Suddenly overall team depth and guard play has gone from a strength to a weakness for UCI. Recently true freshman PG Rembert has been getting playing time and even started last game at UC Davis, where the team fell behind 18-0 to start the game. UCI has played well at times at home but on the road has been a different story. They amazingly came from 18 points down in the second half to beat Harvard in OT but are otherwise winless in nine other tries away from home. Expect Pacific to continue their solid play and win this convincingly. Give the points.

Play: Pacific -7.5 1.0 UNIT  |  LOSS 59-53
Northern Arizona (-8.5) at Sacramento State - 7:00pm Pacific - Game #717-718
The Lumberjacks continue to play well having now won 8 of their last 10 games. They enter this game focused solely on Sacramento State as they have had a week to prepare and do not play again until next Friday night. Senior F/C Kyle Landry (21.0ppg in conference play) is 100% healthy for the first time in his career and is having an outstanding season. Point guard Josh Wilson continues to rack up assists and it is always a plus to have a quality playmaker when backing a road team. Sacramento State has beaten just one D-1 team all season and most recently the Hornets lost by 12 at home to Cal State Bakersfield. Jerome Jenkins is most likely a lame duck coach at this point. NAU will have a clear size advantage inside the paint tonight but the Lumberjacks also prefer to play the same uptempo style that Sac State does which will make it easier to cover this number. In road game at Eastern Washington two weeks back, NAU blew a big second half lead but I expect them to pull away and finish the job with an easy win tonight. Give the points.

Play: Northern Arizona -8.5  1.0 UNIT  |  WIN 80-69


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