Jan. 28 Plays

After picking up 10 Units and paying for one of my client’s February rent, we have 11 more Units in play tonight.

St. John’s at Pittsburgh (-8.5)
Turnovers and poor shooting have plagued Pittsburgh during its two-game losing streak. The loss to Georgetown wasn’t shameful, but the road loss to Seton Hall should have the Panthers looking to get back on track.
The Red Storm has allowed its last five opponents to shoot 44 percent, and St. John’s is just 1-4 on the road with its lone win coming its Temple in November.
The bugaboo for St. John’s this season has been long scoring droughts, which will be troublesome against a stingy Pitt defense. Although the Storm welcomes back Anthony Mason, Jr., it is running into Pitt at the wrong time.
Take the Panthers for 4 Units.

Southern Illinois at Indiana State (-1)
After losing five of six games, the Salukis seem to have found something defeating two good teams at home in Western Kentucky and Illinois State.
The Sycamores have dropped four straight, granted those losses were against three of the Missouri Valley’s best.
ISU’s three conference wins have come against mediocre conference opponents, so expect the Salukis to continue their roll with a road victory. Take SIU for 2 Units.

USC (-4) at Oregon State
The Beavers have been a tough team to figure this season, losing a home game to Seattle by 51 points, but then winning at Oregon.
Corvallis is always a tough place to play, and OSU likes to slow the tempo as does USC. This should be a close game just due to the fact that both teams like to play things close to the vest.
The advantage in a close games goes to the home team in a tough environment. Take the Beavers for 2 Units.

California at Arizona State (-3.5)
This is a battle for the lead in the Pac 10 conference and no team has been all that consistent in this league.
The Golden Bears have won four of five, but three of those came at home, while Arizona State is coming off an embarassing loss to Arizona.
Cal keys much of its offense off of the 3-point shot, but the Devils have surrendered just 33 percent from beyond the arc this season.
Take ASU for 3 Units.