NCAA basketball on Wednesday night and we will see the Colorado State Rams travel to the Thomas & Mack Center to take on the UNLV Runnin Rebels. The game has a start time of 11:00 pm (Eastern) and will be televised on CBSSN. Vegas odds have the Runnin Rebels listed as 6.5 point favorites, while the total sits at 137.
Analysis: Colorado State comes in at 15-13 overall, but just 7-14-1 ATS. They are also just 2-7 on the road and 6-9 within the MWC. Not a great year for the Rams. On of their conference wins was an 18 point hone win over these Rebels. Colorado State averages a solid 73.4 ppg, but they don't shoot the ball very well, hitting just 42.9% of their shots overall (250th) and 32.2% of their long range shots (280th). 3 players average in double figures for the Rams led by J.J. Avila, who averages 16.6 ppg. Following him is Daniel Bejarano, who averages 16.5 ppg, while also leading the team in rebounding at 8.4 rpg. Jon Octeus (13.1 ppg) rounds out the DD scorers for the Rams. On defense the Rams have allowed 68.9 ppg (142nd) on 44.3% shooting (209th) overall and 36.9% from long range (288th).
The Runnin Rebels come in at 17-10 overall and 8-6 within the MWC. It looks like the Rebels could be headed to the NIT, unless they were able to win their conference tournament. The Rebels have lost 2 in a row after winning 5 of their previous 6 games. UNLV averages a modest 71.3 ppg (179th) on 43.8% shooting (213th). They also are 308th in 3-pt shooting (31.5%) and 315th in FT shooting (65.2%). This is a bad shooting team overall. The rebels are led by Bryce DeJean-Jones, who averages 13.6 ppg, while Khem Birch (11.6 ppg), Roscoe Smith (11.2 ppg) and Kevin Olekaibe (10.4 ppg) also average in double digits for the Rebels. Defense is where the Rebels have excelled this year as they have allowed just 64.9 ppg (49th) on just 40% shooting overall (35th) and 28.4% from long range (5th).
Pick: I like the Rebels in this one. This is a must win game for them and the Rams have been struggling of late. UNLV gets a huge edge on the defensive end of the floor and it will be that defense that helps them pull away late. Look for the rebels to win by 10+ here.
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