Saturday's Selections

Temple/URI -- Needless to say this is a huge game for both teams. Temple got undressed by Richmond last week and had a week to get ready for Rhode Island. They won over the Rams earlier this season with horrible officiating not in their favor and a lot going against them. It was one of the more impressive wins this season. Now they return home in a game that may not have much atmosphere outside the students...The bigger issue involves Juan Fernandez. The PG is still dealing with lingering concussion symptoms. At one point this week he sat in a dark room all day to rest his head. This is a bad game for him to miss because URI's press will eat them alive without him. Ramone Moore filled in well offensively but the offense lacked direction in Richmond without Fernandez. If you held me to it, I don't think Fernandez is going to play in this one. He hasn't practiced much outside of some light shooting. If he doesnt play it comes down to Lavoy Allen who tore URI up inside at their place. The Rams are coming off a tough home loss to Richmond and will be focused heading to Philly.

My pick for this one is URI +5 and a small small small lean to the over. I'm not sure if the Owls win this. If I knew that Juan was going to play, I'd feel a whole hell of a lot better with this one. I'll keep you posted if things change. RIght now URI +5 and the over.

Elsewhere:
Baylor/Missou Over 144.5 -- The over has hit three straight times in Baylor in this matchup. The Bears average over 80 points at home.

Drake +3 -- Indiana State's injury problems lead me to take the road team in this one. Drake's not a horrible road team.

Nebraska +15 -- Texas isn't playing well right now and the Huskers have had ATS success against the Longhorns.

JMU +11 -- This is a matchup of two teams that have talent but can't decide if they are good or bad. VCU's road problems rear their ugly head here. The key is the Sanders/Bowles matchup. Whomever wins this one wins the game. VCU may win but this one's gonna be close.

Auburn/Miss State Over 143.5 -- 8 of the last 12 have gone over. The Tigers score 70 points a game but give up that much as well.

WKU/UALR Over 138.5 -- I'm going to keep pressing the WKU overs until they stop hitting. The Hilltoppers will get to 75 or so in this one.

North Texas -5.5 -- Denver is 0-9 ATS on the road and is outscored by an average of 8 points. I think UNT runs them out of the building.

UVA +6.5 -- This one is tighter then people think.The hoos have been off for the week and are itching to get out there. Landesburg/Delaney is going to be one hell of a matchup to watch.

La Tech -8 1H -- Hawaii is outscored by 14 in the 1st half of their road games and are playing with a lack of guards now that Jeremy Lay is out for the season. This one's gonna get ugly.

San Jose State +7 -- Adrian Oliver and the boys are a whole different team at home. I think they hang around in this one against Utah State.