The Montana Grizzlies and the Sacramento State Hornets meet Thursday in college basketball action from Hornet Gym. Montana is 3-1 in their last four games and fell big to Oregon in their most recent outing. As for the Hornets, they’re 1-2 in the last three. Sac State was blown out by Arizona in their last game. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Montana went 2-2 in their first four games, beating Dickinson State and Omaha while otherwise falling to Mississippi State and North Dakota. After wins over UC San Diego and Southern Miss, the Grizzlies lost to Oregon in their last game.
In the Oregon matchup, Montana limped to a 46-24 deficit at the break and didn’t get any closer from there in an 87-47 blowout loss. Lonnell Martin was the only Grizzlies player in double-digits with 12 points and one rebound.
Over on the Sacramento State side, they’ve alternated wins with losses all season long so far. The Hornets’ victories have come over William Jessup, Cal Poly and UC Davis; the losses were to Utah, UC San Diego and Arizona.
Back on Saturday versus Arizona, Sacramento State was down 47-22 at halftime. From there the Hornets were outscored 58-38 in a 105-59 defeat. Cameron Wilbon led the team on 14 points with two rebounds and one assist.
The Hornets are 13-6 ATS in their last 19 Thursday games and 5-0 ATS in their last five after a straight-up loss. The over is 6-2 in Sac State’s last eight overall.
Meanwhile, Montana is 0-4 ATS in their last four road games and 5-1 ATS in their last six Thursday games. The Grizzlies are 10-21 ATS in their last 31 overall.
PICK: I’m going to try Montana here, but it’s a tough call. Both teams are coming off really ugly games, but they should match up well in this one. In any case, the Grizzlies shot just 26.1 percent from the floor against Oregon (who shot 66 percent) and were out-rebounded 41-15. It was a beatdown in every sense. As for the Hornets, they shot 36.1 percent against Arizona (54.3 percent) and had a 48-25 rebounding deficit.
I like both teams to look a lot better in a competitive game here. Montana has hit 68 points or more in four of their last five, so if they can get the offense going early I think they’ll be in line for a cover.