Sport: College HoopsPick Selection: See Writeup
Hofstra Pride at Drexel Dragons 8:00 PM ET
Hofstra Pride +8.5 -105
A battle of Colonial League undefeated teams takes place on Thursday in what should be a closely contested game. The fact that Hofstra is getting as much as it is in this game is very surprising as this one should be sitting at around a field goal. The Pride have won five straight games and 11 of 12 after starting the season 0-3 with those three losses coming on the road by a combined nine points. Since then, Hofstra has gone 6-1 away from home.
Drexel has been even hotter, winners of 10 straight games but that should not warrant this line. The Dragons are having a fantastic season and there isn?t much bad that can be said about this team. They win with defense as their offense is their shortfall. Drexel is shooting just 40.5 percent over its last five games while averaging 65 ppg. The real liability is an assist/turnover ratio of 0.79. They are averaging 11.9 apg, which is 265th in the country.
Hofstra entered this year with the highest scoring backcourt trio returning in the nation. Senior Loren Stokes (17.4 ppg), junior Antoine Agudio (17.2 ppg) and senior Carlos Rivera (11.7 ppg) combined to average 46.3 ppg last season and this year, they are averaging a combined 49.8 ppg, which is currently second in the nation. Drexel is more balanced inside and out but with such dominance in the backcourt, the Pride will use that to go for the win in this game. Play Hofstra Pride 1.5 Units
Memphis Tigers at Houston Cougars 9:00 PM ET
Houston Cougars +7 +100
This is game that features two teams that are night and day on the home and road. The home team is 19-2 in Memphis and Houston games this season not including five neutral court games between the two. The Cougars are 3-1 on their home floor with the lone loss coming again UNLV last time it stepped into Hofheinz Pavilion. They are currently riding a four-game losing skid but with this being their C-USA opener and a nationally televised game, Houston will provide a solid effort.
Take Memphis away from its home court and it is a completely different team. The Tigers are outscoring opponents by 26.7 ppg at home but they are getting outscored by 13 ppg in true road games. Those losses came at Tennessee and Arizona and while the Cougars cannot compare to those teams, Memphis should not be laying this number. The Tigers are shooting a mere 35.2 percent while the defense allows the opposition to shoot over seven percent higher.
Houston enters the Memphis game having averaged just 68 ppg and topping 70 points just twice in its last six games after beginning the season with the nation?s second-best offense with 91.7 ppg in the first six contests. The loss of guard Lanny Smith has certainly hurt but the addition of junior forward Dion Dowell will help going forward. Dowell, a transfer from Texas, sat out the first six games and has averaged 17.5 ppg in his six games.
The Cougars are leading Conference USA teams in turnover margin with an average difference of +5.0. Houston is forcing 17.4 turnovers by its opponents, while averaging just 12.7 turnovers per game. They have an assist/turnover ratio of 0.96 which is low due to the recent offensive struggles but that average jumps up to 1.17 at home while the defense is allowing a very low ratio of 0.56. Memphis has an assist/turnover ratio of 0.93 in its games away from home. Play Houston Cougars 2 Units
Samford Bulldogs at Tennessee St. Tigers 8:30 PM ET
Samford Bulldogs +1 -105
Samford is catching a great number on the road as it should take this game without much problem. The Bulldogs are 6-0 in the Ohio Valley conference and they will look to remain the lone undefeated team in the conference. Samford is 3-5 on the road but all three wins have been within the conference. Three losses were against Florida, Arizona and LSU, a combined 38-8 so the road mark is definitely rather deceivin
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