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It's time to continue our College Basketball odds series with a Memphis-San Francisco prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Memphis-San Francisco.
The Thursday slate in college basketball has a lot of compelling games on the docket, not necessarily with blue-blood-level quality, mind you, but certainly with the urgency of teams which are trying to establish an identity while grabbing the nonconference wins which will improve their NCAA Tournament resumes. Memphis-USF is one such matchup.
The San Francisco Dons badly need this game. They're unbeaten this season, and they do already have a win over Boise State, but the West Coast Conference — as the Dons know well — usually doesn't offer a lot of chances for high-quality wins which move the needle with the NCAA Tournament's Division I Men's Basketball Committee. Gonzaga and Saint Mary's are generally the two games in which other WCC teams can significantly improve their portfolios. The other games in the conference are basically “loss avoidance” games, meaning that winning doesn't boost the resume so much as not losing means avoiding a hit on the ledger sheet. Nonconference play is where teams such as San Francisco have to gain ground and stack quality results so that any slip-up in the WCC won't hurt too much. The win over Boise State is good, but USF has to follow that up with another victory over Memphis to begin to feel confident about its body of work and whether it will hold up on Selection Sunday next March. Teams in San Francisco's position can't bat .500 in nonconference games. They have to be strong and consistent in order to make the Big Dance.
Memphis will enter this game with confidence for a number of reasons, but the main one is that UM has already played and won a road game in the West this season. The Tigers went to Las Vegas and were able to beat UNLV. The game was close and tough. Memphis was down four points midway through the second half. The Tigers have already notched multiple comeback wins this season — Missouri was another one — but the UNLV win came on the road and was therefore especially notable. Penny Hardaway has managed to create a cohesive team in the early stages of this season. That has not been easy for him to achieve at Memphis. If UM can continue to win in November, the odds increase that Penny's players will remain on the same page and stay united for the whole season. That is absolutely crucial to the Tigers' aspirations for a big season and a return to main-stage college basketball relevance.
Here are the Memphis-San Francisco College Basketball Odds, courtesy of FanDuel
College Basketball Odds: Memphis-San Francisco Odds
Memphis: -1.5 (-105)
Moneyline: -118
San Francisco: +1.5 (-115)
Moneyline: -102
Over: 154.5 (-115)
Under: 154.5 (-105)
How to Watch Memphis vs San Francisco
Time: 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT
TV: ESPN Plus
Stream: fuboTV (Free Trial)
Why Memphis Will Cover The Spread/Win
Memphis's win at UNLV will give this team confidence that it can win on the road. It has already proved that it can win a tough road game a few time zones away from Memphis. The Tigers will not get rattled if they trail by a handful of points in the second half. They have overcome shaky starts to win games down the stretch. In a game which is close to a pick 'em, Memphis covering seems like the likely outcome.
Why San Francisco Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Dons handled Boise State by 11 points. All they need to do here to cover is win by one point. Technically, they could cover even if they lose by one, but no one bets on a basketball game believing that a team will lose by only one point. USF moneyline sounds like a pretty reasonable play from where we sit.
Final Memphis-San Francisco Prediction & Pick
This game looks like a total dart throw. Pass.
Final Memphis-San Francisco Prediction & Pick: Memphis -1.5
