UNLV Rebels Vs. USC Trojans 11/25/11
Mark’s Free College Basketball Pick Against the Spread
After five games the two things we can comment on regarding Southern California basketball is that scoring hasn’t been a strong point and this team will have to have solid defensive play to win games. We saw both versus Morgan State although both teams shot the ball well at 50% in the half court. The Trojans defense was busy posting ten steals and forcing 23 turnovers leading to a few extra shot opportunities. This game really didn’t need to be as tense at the end if USC had hit their free throws which has been an Achilles Heel to start the season. The Trojans were only 12 of 20 at the line and left too many points on the floor in a one possession game. The Southern Cal offense was a three man attack led my the tandem of Aaron Fuller and Maurice Jones who scored 19 points and 18 points respectively. Greg Allen followed with 14 points off the bench but production from five other players totaled just 14 points.
The hot start to the season for Nevada Las Vegas has been easy to identify as the Runnin’ Rebels have been scoring plenty of points while making life miserable for opposing offenses. Cal Poly got a first hand look at the high scoring UNLV offense that hit 45% from the floor and held the Mustangs to only 31.7%. Cal Poly held a slight advantage on the offensive glass while Nevada Las Vegas returned the favor in the turnover department but won this game on shutdown defense and a dominating 25-4 edge at the charity Stripe. Combined with plenty of offensive firepower and balance and an easy victory was the result. All five starters posted double figures in the scoring column with Mike Moser leading the way with 14 points and eight rebounds. Anthony Marshall and Oscar Bellfield followed with 13 points and 12 points respectively while Chase Stanbeck and Brice Massamba combined for 21 points with the latter posting a game best nine pulls.
Southern Cal looks like they will need to control the clock and defend the shot well to compete as breakdowns in either area can be fatal. So far all the chips have been falling in to place for Nevada Las Vegas and they seem like the logical choice which scares me…
Mark’s Pick: UNLV -12
