San Jose St (RPI #236, Sagarin #245)
12-18 overall
10-15 ATS
4-12 conference
15-10 ATS
SOS: 209
Louisiana Tech (RPI #325, Sagarin #324)
6-23 overall
14-11 ATS
3-13 Conference
14-11 O/u
SOS: 247
The Western Athletic Conference Tournament gets under way tonight as the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs meet the San Jose Spartans as a six and a half point underdog. These two teams have met twice since the middle of February with the home side winning each contest. Tech only has six wins on the year, but they've won two in a row and one vs the team they'll be matched up with tonight.
La Tech has not had much success in the 2007-2008 season, they actually have zero wins vs. teams that are ranked in the RPI top 170. The Bulldogs are essentially a one man show on offense with Sophomore Guard, Kyle Gibson, leading the way. Gibson averages over 16 and a half per game and notched 28 points in the season finally vs. San Jose State. In fact, Gibson has proved difficult for the Spartans to stop in each of their meetings this year as he has put up 25-plus in both matchups. Outisde of their star, this team is absolutely abysmal. Tech ranks 331st in the nation in FG% and 338th in rebounding margin. Keep in mind, these rankings only consist of 341 total teams.
San Jose State is a bit of a different story. The Spartans have several wins over the RPI's top 100 and even a win over the conference champion Utah State Aggies. The concern here for the favorite is the fact that they've lost five straight since that win, SJST has not found a way to win or cover in any of those outings. The bright spot for the Spartans should be a huge advantage on the boards. During the regular season San Jose State was one of the best rebounding teams in the league while their opponent was the most anemic.
Neither one of these teams ranks in the top 260 in FG% defense which leads me to believe there will be plenty of open looks for these kids tonight. The game isn't one with a lot of pressure as each team is going to try their best to win, but each knows that their main focus is getting ready for the 08-09 season. Each meeting between these schools in '08 has gone over, the over is seven and one in Techs last eight games, and the over has cashed in ten of the Bulldogs last thirteen. These stats obviously indicate the the over is something to consider.
Looking at the sides we see that the Spartans have annihilated La Tech on the boards in each of their previous meetings but they have yet to really put Tech away. San Jose has some decent wins on the year, but they've been beaten badly in their two most recent games and they've lost two in a row to teams ranked outside of the top 300. Yes, they've lost their last two matchups with teams ranked outside of the top 300.
San Jose State is the better side here, and is likely to dominate the glass again, but I have a lot of trouble backing a team that's not proven it can beat teams outside of the top 300 even at home. I will take the over tonight as the Spartans score with second chance points and Gibson does his best to keep his team in the game.
my play: Over 131 (Bookmaker)
12-18 overall
10-15 ATS
4-12 conference
15-10 ATS
SOS: 209
Louisiana Tech (RPI #325, Sagarin #324)
6-23 overall
14-11 ATS
3-13 Conference
14-11 O/u
SOS: 247
The Western Athletic Conference Tournament gets under way tonight as the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs meet the San Jose Spartans as a six and a half point underdog. These two teams have met twice since the middle of February with the home side winning each contest. Tech only has six wins on the year, but they've won two in a row and one vs the team they'll be matched up with tonight.
La Tech has not had much success in the 2007-2008 season, they actually have zero wins vs. teams that are ranked in the RPI top 170. The Bulldogs are essentially a one man show on offense with Sophomore Guard, Kyle Gibson, leading the way. Gibson averages over 16 and a half per game and notched 28 points in the season finally vs. San Jose State. In fact, Gibson has proved difficult for the Spartans to stop in each of their meetings this year as he has put up 25-plus in both matchups. Outisde of their star, this team is absolutely abysmal. Tech ranks 331st in the nation in FG% and 338th in rebounding margin. Keep in mind, these rankings only consist of 341 total teams.
San Jose State is a bit of a different story. The Spartans have several wins over the RPI's top 100 and even a win over the conference champion Utah State Aggies. The concern here for the favorite is the fact that they've lost five straight since that win, SJST has not found a way to win or cover in any of those outings. The bright spot for the Spartans should be a huge advantage on the boards. During the regular season San Jose State was one of the best rebounding teams in the league while their opponent was the most anemic.
Neither one of these teams ranks in the top 260 in FG% defense which leads me to believe there will be plenty of open looks for these kids tonight. The game isn't one with a lot of pressure as each team is going to try their best to win, but each knows that their main focus is getting ready for the 08-09 season. Each meeting between these schools in '08 has gone over, the over is seven and one in Techs last eight games, and the over has cashed in ten of the Bulldogs last thirteen. These stats obviously indicate the the over is something to consider.
Looking at the sides we see that the Spartans have annihilated La Tech on the boards in each of their previous meetings but they have yet to really put Tech away. San Jose has some decent wins on the year, but they've been beaten badly in their two most recent games and they've lost two in a row to teams ranked outside of the top 300. Yes, they've lost their last two matchups with teams ranked outside of the top 300.
San Jose State is the better side here, and is likely to dominate the glass again, but I have a lot of trouble backing a team that's not proven it can beat teams outside of the top 300 even at home. I will take the over tonight as the Spartans score with second chance points and Gibson does his best to keep his team in the game.
my play: Over 131 (Bookmaker)