12/8 Basketball Preview Part One

All 9 teams are in action at the same time for the first time all season.

(6-0) (8-1)

John Wooden Classic, Anaheim, CA 12PM PT TV: SD CH.4

This game can be seen in multiple places and this is a good one in St. Mary's against San Diego State. Both of these teams should make it to the tournament this year and this game will be a good test before conference play starts. So far the Gaels have only played one really good opponent in ranked Oregon who they beat earlier in this year and this game is only their 2nd game away from their home stadium. The Gaels are also on the cusp of being ranked in the top 25 and are a team that is highly efficient yet likes to run the ball by averaging 86 points per game. The Aztecs score as well but are only in the low 70's. The Gaels are lead by Patrick Mills who can score at 16 per game but also is a defensive minded player as well with averaging 2.5 steals per game and is a player the Aztecs need to look out for. The Gaels also have 2 other players who score at least 10 per game. An area where the Aztecs need to attack is their turnover's, because the Gaels average 14 per game and the Aztecs average a nice 10 steals per game and that could be the difference in this game for the Aztecs. SDSU does have a few more top end scorers with 5 players who average 10 points per game. This game is too close to call but since I usually make a pick Ill go with San Diego State because of their defense and they have more go to scorers.

(1-5) (4-3)

Daniel Meyer Coliseum 12PM CT TV:

If TCU loses to Texas Southern it will be probably the worst loss the league has suffered this year. Currently the Horned Frogs are on a 3 game losing streak and most recently lost to SMU. Texas Southern comes from the lowly SWAC conference and have only defeated one team which was Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in their first game. Texas Southern is offensively challenged where they only average 60 points per game, and they also have trouble holding onto the ball by having 17 turnovers per game. Neither team shoots the ball well at all both coming just under 40%, and normally when a MWC plays a SWAC team it would be a no brainer but this is TCU they should win but I would not be surprised if they did lose.

(5-5)(7-2)

The Pit 1PM MT TV: NONE

The Lobos lost their second straight game and this time it was to WAC opponent and rival New Mexico State. New Mexico should be better then losing to the Aggies who are 4-6. So far on the year the Lobos are 1-2 on the road and their road win at Colorado was only a 7 point win early on. San Diego is a team that is from the West Coast Conference and have 5 wins but 2 of those are against Hawai'i. The Lobos are a potential team that could win the conference and also be an at large team so this game should be a win. San Diego does have Brandon Johnson and Gyno Pomare who together average 32 points per game, so the Lobos need to keep an eye on those two players. For New Mexico they should pressure San Diego because they average 17 turnovers per game and that should lead to easy points and the win for New Mexico.

(5-3) (3-3)

Arena-Auditorium 2PM MT TV:

Colorado is no powerhouse out of the Big XII but Wyoming is near the bottom of the MWC. Wyoming will have the best player on the court in Brandon Ewing, but so far Wyoming has yet to capitalize on their stud player. Wyoming does have advantage by playing at the highest arena in the nation and a crowd that is very loud, plus with Wyoming who plays well at home this should be a pretty competitive game. Wyoming does have advantage at home but they are just not that good, this should be close and I would go with Colorado in this one.