George Mason at Ohio (-1.5) - 10:00am Pacific - Game #819-820
Ohio is well on its way to a 20 win season and did the MAC proud with non-conference wins over Maryland, St John's, and Mew Mexico State. This is a rare showcase game for the Bobcats as it will be the first game in the history of the Convo to be televised nationally (ESPN2). Ohio's strength is in the frontcourt led by MAC POY candidate F Williams (15.6ppg and 9.9 rpg) and F Tillman. Both do an excellent job of putting pressure on the opposing team by getting to the FT line at a high rate. The Bobcats are a perfect 10-0 at home this year and Coach O'Shea promised a great atmosphere when lobbying for this game to be on ESPN2. O'Shea has been handing out tickets and promoting the game with hopes for the largest crowd in his seven year tenure. George Mason is having another solid year but has failed to transfer that success to the road. The Patriots are 5-5 in true road games this season with zero wins over teams with a winning record. Mason's key weakness is a lack of strength in the frontcourt outside of F Thomas which has not been exposed in a down CAA this season (projected starting F Monroe is redshirting this season due to injury). Mason's hopes for an NCAA at large bid evaporated when they lost on a last second layup at home to UNCW which makes it hard to find much motivation for the Patriots in this spot. Mason already lost on the road to a MAC opponent (Kent State) by 17 earlier this year. Expect the Bobcats to stay undefeated at home. Lay the short number.

Play: Ohio -1.5  1.0 UNIT  |  WIN 69-57
Wichita State at Northern Arizona (-3) - 11:00am Pacific - Game #825-826
The Lumberjacks are having a solid season and have a great chance to reach 20 wins. Head coach Mike Adras has said this team has the best chemistry of any he has coached in his nine seasons here. Sparkplug guard Jermaine Bishop who earned a starting job in early January missed a three game stretch due to injury and was either out or limited for each of NAU's recent four losses, all of which came by 3 points or less. He returned to the lineup three games ago and has played his regular minutes in last two. NAU's road win at Montana two games back left no mistake that they are at least the second best team in the Big Sky. Wichita State has struggled to a 3-13 record in conference play, tied for last place, depsite the MVC having a down year. They are coming off three consecutive overtime losses. NAU is not only a difficult place to travel to for a first time visitor, but it is also close to 7,000 feet elevation, which does not bode well for a weary WSU team who primarily uses an 8 man rotation since losing key forward Griskenas to a knee injury last month. Give the points.

Northern Arizona -3 1.0 UNIT |  WIN 85-75
Hawaii (-4) at UC Riverside - 5:00pm Pacific - Game #881-882
Since New Year's, Hawaii is one of the most improved teams in the country. After starting a dismal 3-8, they have gone 8-5 since and are playing with much better cohesiveness under first year coach Bob Nash. They have gone 6-3 over last nine games despite getting unlucky in 5 point loss at Fresno State in last game and being without top post player P.J. Owsley for three games due to a knee injury before he returned to play 12 minutes on Wednesday. Sophomore forward Bill Amis (13.3ppg, 8.3rpg last 3) has emerged as a difference maker in recent weeks. Hawaii's top four scorers are seniors, they shoot well, and play intelligently. UC Riverside is coming off one of their biggest wins of the season, by 8 over UC Irvine on Wednesday, but almost blew a 16 point halftime lead as they led by just one with three minutes left. Despite more competitive results in recent weeks, the Highlanders have not turned the corner yet and remain one of the worst teams in Division 1. Hawaii arrived here Thursday to have two days to get acclimated and Riverside's home court advantage is usually negligible. Take the team from the superior conference and give the points.

Play: Hawaii -4  1.0 UNIT  |  LOSS 62-79
San Jose State (+9.5) at Pacific - 7:00pm Pacific - Game #897-898
The Spartans are 12-13 and have their highest season win total in seven years. They own wins over Utah State, Nevada, and Santa Clara, and lost by just 2 to New Mexico State. This is all despite arguably their best player, starting point and leading scorer Justin Graham missing three key weeks with an elbow injury and good looking Pepperdine transfer Chris Oakes not becoming eligible until the second semester. Oakes scored a career high 21 in win over Utah State on Monday and Graham has returned to play starters minutes in last two games. Reserve big man Caballero missed each of the last two wins but is probable to be available tonight. Pacific inexpicably lost as a double digit home favorite on ESPN2 seven games back to Cal Poly. They then won three in a row but two wins were vs Long Beach and UC Davis, and the third was a fortunate late comeback to force OT vs CSUN. Since then they have lost three in a row, and were not competitive in each. SJSU is just over an hour drive from Pacific which makes this an easy trip and they should have a decent contingent of fans in attendance. The Spartans are from the superior conference and are a live dog at this big number. Take the points.

Play: San Jose State +9,5 1.0 UNIT  |  WIN 75-84

Cal Poly at Fresno State (-9) - 7:00pm Pacific - Game #899-900
Fresno has been shorthanded for the majority of the season but still have managed decent results, particularly at home. They are getting a big boost from the return of starting guard Dwight O'Neil who missed 18 games with a wrist injury. He returned five games ago and by the third time out was playing 30+ minutes a game which is an indication of how important he is. Promising freshman forward Golubovic has also emerged (8.0ppg last 9) and has started in recent games after being a non-factor in the first half of the season. The WAC is clearly a much stronger conference than the Big West. Fresno already beat Big West contender Pacific here by 17 earlier in the season. Cal Poly comes into this game without two starting guards due to injury and a third limited by a possible stress fracture. They snuck by a struggling UC Davis team Wednesday night but were helped by the late scratch of key guard Hanson (shoulder) from the Aggie lineup. Cal Poly was a bad team even when at full strength, and have had some ugly performances on the road. Despite playing in the defensively challenged Big West, Cal Poly ranks 296th among 341 D-1 teams in field goal percentage. Tonight they will be facing one of the best defensive teams in one of the toughest arenas that they have all season. Give the points.

.Play: Fresno State -9   1.0 UNIT  |  LOSS 76-70


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