Allstar's Thursdays College Basketball Selections

[Allstar]

Here are my selections tonight:

10 Units Arizona -8 -108

Arizona came up short 82-72 to the highly ranked Stanford Cardinal Saturday. Arizona (10-2 SU, 4-7 ATS) had a nine-game winning streak snapped, shooting a paltry 19 percent (6-of-31) in the first half. The Wildcats trailed by double digits nearly the entire second half. Arizona center Channing Frye managed just 12 points against the physical combo of Rob Little and Justin Davis. The Wildcats were forced to use freshman Ivan Radenovic to match the Cardinal's size and Radenovic was 2-of-10 for six points. USC's Desmon Farmer scored just six of his 22 points in the second half, when the Trojans (7-6 SU, 3-9 ATS) shot 30 percent after hitting 60 percent in the first half in a 76-61 loss to Washington State over the weekend. USC led 40-37 at halftime, but scored only 21 points the rest of the way. USC catches Arizona at a potentially bad time, following the Wildcats' home loss to Stanford. The Trojans have had decent success against UA in Los Angeles, but the Ornery 'Cats claw the Trojans.


7 Units Cal Irvine -8 -105

The UC Riverside Highlanders (5-6) have 6'-7" sophomore F Nate Carter (14 ppg, 5.6 rpg) and 6'-8", 255-pound junior Vili Morton (11 ppg, 5.8 rpg) up front, but they are 0-5 on the road where the defense gives up 75 ppg! The UC Irvine Anteaters (7-6) are 4-2 at home and have a terrific frontcourt, led by 7'-0" senior C Adam Parada (12 ppg, 62% FGs, 7 rpg), 6'-11" senior Stanislac Zuzak (11.5 ppg, and 6'-4" sophomore point guard Jeff Gloger is their second leading rebounder (7.1 boards pg). Irvine ripped Riverside 78-61 on this court a year ago and should control the boards again.


7 Units New Mexico State -4.5 -108

Sun Belt battle between two near .500 teams, each with 7 wins. However, the home team has all the cards here. New Orleans (7-7) shoots just 40% from the field, lacking height with senior shooting guard Kyle Buggs (12 ppg) and 6'-2" senior Johnell Smith (14 ppg, 37% FGs) leading the way. But New Orleans is 3-6 on the road and they've lost 4 of 5 games. They give up 72 ppg on the road, and that will hurt here against a strong New Mexico State offense that averages 78 ppg at home!!! New Mexico State has a strong frontcourt with 6’-8” senior James Moore (16 ppg, 7 rpg, 58% FGs) and 6’-6” senior Kelsey Crooks (6.7 rpg), while 6’-6” sophomore guard Duane John (18 ppg) is an offensive force from downtown. New Mexico State is 5-1 SU/1-1 ATS at home and should have an easy time here, especially on the boards!!!

MORE TO FOLLOW,

ALLSTAR

 

[Allstar]

5 Units SW Missouri St -11 -107

Tough spot in the Missouri Valley Conference for overmatched Indiana State. The Indiana State Sycamores (6-6) are just 1-3 on the road where they average 51 points per game with a slow down style. They lack height and 6’-5” sophomore guard David Moss (15.8 ppg) is the only double-digit scorer. In their last two road games, Indiana State is 0-2 SU/ATS scoring 39 points at Butler and 42 at Bradley!!! It doesn't get any easier here against the SW Missouri State Bears (10-5). The Bears have a big edge in the frontcourt this game with 6’-7” senior Monwell Randle (11 ppg, 7 rpg) and 6’-7”, 240-lb junior Tamarr Maclin (7.6 rebounds per game). They have more depth, too, with a backcourt of 6’-2” freshman Blake Ahearn (11 ppg) and 6’-1” playmaker senior Merrill Andrews (4 assists pg). SW Missouri State is 8-3 at home and last year went 2-0 SU/ATS against Indiana State, winning 65-51 on this court.


5 Units Louisville -15 -103

Rick Pitino's maulers held Southern Miss to 42 points and then held USF to 40 points in early C-USA games. The Cardinals (Road: 3-0 SU, ATS) entered the Southern Miss game ranked fifth in the nation in field goal percentage defense. Don't be surprised if the Cardinals come up short this week in anticipation of the showdown with Cincinnati next week. Francisco Garcia might be the most talented offensive player in Conference USA, but he's scoring "only" 15.5 points per game because of his unselfishness. Against Southern Miss he shot only six times and finished with just nine points, dished four assists and had five blocked shots. He did score 15 points against USF four days later, but he also took just 11 shots and passed for five assists. Last year the EC Pirates started the season 9-2 but went 3-13 in C-USA play. This season the Pirates got off to an 8-2 start but opened their C-USA schedule with a 71-68 home loss to UAB and an 81-65 road loss to Charlotte. Not a good sign when the next horse up is a defensive monster like Louisville. The Cardinals are at their best when they're playing relentless defense.


5 Units Santa Clara -3 -102

Pepperdine (6-11) has talent, especially at the offensive end, but there's clearly something lacking with this team. The Waves have underachieved for two seasons now, and they are 5-11 against the spread giving up 79 points per game and allowing opponents to shoot 48%!!! Junior Glen McGowan and sophomore guard Alex Acker (13 ppg, 5 rpg) lead a very good Pepperdine offense, but this defense has allowed 91, 76, 87 and 88 points the last four games!!! The Santa Clara Broncos (9-7 SU, 8-5 ATS) play good defense behind 6’-2” junior Kyle Bailey (11 ppg, though a poor 38% FGs) and 6’-2” junior Doron Perkins (12 ppg), while 6’-8” senior Jim Howell (6 rpg) crashes the boards. Santa Clara is 7-5 SU/7-2 ATS at home and went 2-0 ATS last season against Pepperdine, winning 73-61 on this court.


3 Units Washington State +3 -110

The WSU (R: 4-4 SU, 2-3 ATS) Cougars and OSU (H: 7-2 SU, 2-3 ATS) collide after both pocketed perhaps their best wins of the season. The Beavers should be full of confidence after beating rival Oregon for the first time in 10 games. WSU's job will be to take the wind out of their sails by slowing the tempo and quieting the crowd. The WSU-Oregon game figures to be an extreme contrast in styles, with Oregon determined to make the game a track meet. The normally-offensively challenged Cougars shot 58 percent from the field and registered a season high for points in a 76-61 triumph over Southern California at the Spokane Arena. Jeff Varem led WSU (8-6, 2-2 Pacific-10) with season highs of 22 points and seven rebounds and Shami Gill matched his career high of 17 points. OSU point guard Lamar Hurd's ability to deal with WSU's versatile and improved senior leader Marcus Moore will be critical. The Wassu run and gun tilts the scales.

Good luck tongiht my friends,

ALLSTAR