UNLV Runnin' Rebels (8-9) vs. San Jose State Spartans (8-11)
January 27, 2024 9:00 pm EDT
The Line: San Jose State Spartans +4.5 ; Over/Under: -
(Get latest betting odds)
The UNLV Rebels and the San Jose State Spartans meet Saturday in college basketball action from Event Center Arena. UNLV is fresh off a loss to Air Force that dropped the Rebels to 9-9 overall. As for San Jose State, they’re sitting at 8-11 following a loss to New Mexico on Wednesday. Let’s get into our UNLV vs. San Jose State prediction. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
UNLV Rebels
The Rebels have hovered around .500 for most of the year, and started out on a 4-5 clip. It’s been a 5-4 run to even things out since then, with wins over Hofstra, Carroll MT, Bethesda, New Mexico and Boise State alongside losses to San Diego State, Utah State, Colorado State and Air Force.
In the Air Force matchup on Tuesday, the Rebels were drilled 39-24 in the first half. UNLV fell even further behind in the second half on a 51-34 run and lost big 90-58. Leading the team in scoring was Justin Webster with 14 points, one assist and two steals in 23 minutes of work.
San Jose State Spartans
Over on the Spartans’ side, they limped to a 7-6 record over their first 13 games this year. San Jose State has won just one of their last six games though (versus Air Force). Otherwise it’s ben losses to Wyoming, Boise State, San Diego State, Fresno State and New Mexico in that time.
In the matchup with New Mexico on Wednesday, the Spartans faced an 11-point deficit in the locker room. San Jose State was outscored 52-43 from there and lost 95-75. Leading team scorer Myron Amey managed 24 points, nine rebounds, four assists and one steal in the losing effort.
ANDREW’S FREE UNLV VS SAN JOSE STATE PREDICTION
I’m going to lean toward San Jose State. Probably not touching this one, though. The Spartans didn’t fare too well on the scoreboard against a good New Mexico team in their last outing. San Jose State shot quite well (47.6 percent) and had 34 rebounds but also coughed up 18 turnovers (leading to 25 Lobos points). The good news is that SJSU has hit a nice 69 or more points in 10 straight games.
As for UNLV, they’ve managed 68 or more points in four of their last five games. The Rebels should be able to score fairly well here also, so we’re probably looking at a high-total finish if both teams are on. Ultimately I like SJSU to hammer out the cover but you could call it either way.
