A battle in the Mountain West between the No. 20 New Mexico Lobos and Wyoming Cowboys takes place tonight in Laramie. The game is scheduled for a 9:00 p.m. start time and it will be televised live on ROOT. Currently the odds for the game have New Mexico favored by 2 points.
Classic trap game here tonight. New Mexico is ranked, on the road, favorites to win the conference, and are only laying two points against Wyoming. Many argue that 2-3 points on the spread indicate how much a home team gets so to see this line so low for the Lobos is definitely interesting. In fact, does their last game, where they were blown out by San Diego State, have them mentally ready for this game? New Mexico scored just 34 points in that game — the fewest by the school since scoring 32 on Jan. 31, 1976, at Utah, and its 25.0 percent shooting (11 of 44) was its worst mark since at least 1965.
Oh by the way, San Diego State gives up an average of 59 points per game.
But then again, we know that New Mexico doesn't shoot the ball well anyway. In fact, the Lobos are second worst in the conference in field goal percentage at just 40.6 percent for the year. Wyoming isn't great either at just 44 percent, but that's much better than what New Mexico tosses up. Yet, the Lobos are the favorite to win the conference because of their defense and grind-it-out style of play.
Wyoming is the best team in the conference in defensive scoring, allowing teams to put up just over 54 points per game. In this game last year the Cowboys surrendered just 48 points but lost by 10. Crazy slow game. The Lobos have won nine of the last 11 meetings overall.
Kendall Williams and Tony Snell will be the offense tonight for New Mexico, the duo averages 26.5 points per game. Wyoming's offense will hinge on the shooting of Leonard Washington and Luke Martinez, who each average 14.5 points per contest.
This could be a very good game. New Mexico is only favored by two points in this one and that's a bit shocking, which only gives us more reason to believe that Wyoming is gonna keep this one within a few possessions. Everyone else in the Mountain West certainly is pulling for the Cowboys in this one.
Free Pick: Wyoming 52, New Mexico 51
Betting Tips For College Basketball Conference Games
Chuck Edel, Chris Andrews and Vegas Runner give some tips on betting college basketball conference games.
-$25 of picks FREE! No Obligation - No Credit Card Required - Becoming a member is Fast and Free!
Get more Free Picks from the Pregame Pros HERE.
Be sure and check out Pregame.tv every week for our videos that include handicapping tips, Webinars, analysis and Free Plays.