771 SAN FRANCISCO @ 772 SANTA CLARA
Take: SAN FRANCISCO +3
San Francisco is not a particularly good team, but the Dons are pretty entertaining to watch. This team plays as if defense is a foreign concept they have no desire to explore. That means the Dons are predictable to an extent. If they’re hitting their shots, they can hang with some pretty good opponents. If they get defensed by the opposition, they basically have no chance because they can’t stop anything.
The good news for San Francisco tonight is that while Santa Clara is a clock milker, it’s not like the Broncos are any good defensively. Against teams in the upper reaches as far as adjusted tempo is concerned, Santa Clara has only two wins. One of those was a narrow escape against San Jose State and they also managed to defeat Portland.
The Broncos are certainly capable of getting a win here. They should get plenty of good looks, and it’s not like the team is incapable of getting hot, particularly when talking about Jared Brownridge. Plus, if the whistles are plentiful, Santa Clara is decent at the stripe. But matching the teams head to head categorically, it’s the Dons owning most of the advantages in the areas I give the most weight to.
The game itself doesn’t have a great deal of meaning aside from the rivalry that exists between these teams. Both the Dons and Broncos are 3-5 in league play, and if either of these teams are still playing past the WCC tourney, it would constitute a major surprise. For what it’s worth, San Francisco has been getting it done on the road, posting a surprising 36-16-1 ATS ledger in its last 53 lined road games. I can see the Dons checking off another winner in the spread column here is what looms as a close game. I’ll take the available points with San Francisco.
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