A pivotal Mountain West matchup will take place under the bright lights of Lawlor Events Center when the San Jose State Spartans hit the road to take on the Nevada Wolf Pack. Join us for our college basketball odds series where our San Jose State-Nevada prediction and pick will be revealed.
Entering the weekend with a sloppy 8-13 record including a 1-7 mark in conference play, San Jose State is a far cry from being an NCAA Tournament team, but they still will have a tremendous opportunity to play the role of spoiler against Nevada. Obviously, the struggles have still been imminent as of late as the Spartans are in the midst of a four-game losing streak.
Meanwhile, Nevada also finds themselves at a fork in the road with their recent struggles on the hardwood. In fact, their recent hiccup has seen the Wolf Pack lose in four of their last five games after at one point it was Nevada that found themselves on an eight-game winning streak. Alas, things can change quickly, and the Wolf Pack need to re-install a winning attitude in order to keep their Big Dance aspirations alive.
Here are the college basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
College Basketball Odds: San Jose State-Nevada Odds
San Jose State: +12.5 (-110)
Moneyline: +610
Nevada: -12.5 (-110)
Moneyline: -950
Over: 142.5 (-110)
Under: 142.5 (-110)
How to Watch San Jose State vs. Nevada
Time: 11:00 ET/8:00 PT
TV: FS1
Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)
Why San Jose State Will Cover The Spread/Win
Although San Jose State is in for an uphill climb, never say never to these Spartans.
If the SJSU is going to find a way to not only cover the spread but also improve upon their lousy 1-7 record away from home. Evidently enough, winning on the road in the wild world of college basketball is extremely difficult for any team in the nation, but San Jose State will be in for a challenge against a Nevada squad that has only lost one time all year on their home floor, there is no question that the Spartans will need to be at their best.
Above all else, the first order of business that the Spartans will need to conduct is going to come in the form of some scalding hot three-point shooting. Fortunately, San Jose State hits more than nine three's per game which is the 39th-best mark in all of college basketball. Overall, this statistic alone will be a do-or-die situation for the Spartans. If SJSU doesn't see some three-pointers fall early, then they'll be in trouble.
Why Nevada Will Cover The Spread/Win
At first glance, Nevada plays a brand of basketball that emphasizes winning the turnover margin while playing some fierce defense. On paper, the Wolf Pack on average win the turnover battle by +3.1 per game and also takes extreme care of the basketball which is an obvious winning formula. As a whole, Nevada ranks within the top 25 in turnover margin and their willingness to get after it on the defensive end of the court is a big reason why they have found success.
Unfortunately, Nevada's recent struggles have made the next several contests dire, to say the least. In the blink of an eye, the Wolf Pack are staring at teams that are closer to the basement of the conference rather than near the top. As it stands, Nevada is in 8th place in the conference. Hand in hand, a big reason for the Wolf Pack and their flat play has been their inability to stop turning the basketball over. In the matter of a mere few games, Nevada's identity on the basketball court has completely shifted. While there is still a month remaining in the regular season, the time is now to fix these issues against a beatable opponent at home before it becomes too late to get back into the thick of things in the Mountain West.
Outside of Nevada's home dominance, it will be important to keep tabs on leading scorers Jarod Lucas and Kenan Blackshear. While Lucas is a sharpshooting three-point shooter, Blackshear is a dominant paint threat who plays with a bruising style down-low. Undoubtedly, these two standout names are like Yin and Yang whenever they step foot on the hardwood. By the time the clock hits triple zeroes, it may be up to them to save the day.
Final San Jose State-Nevada Prediction & Pick
San Jose State will give Nevada a run for their money early, but they will eventually run out of steam in the second half. Take Nevada to cover handily.
Click here for more betting news and predictions
Final San Jose State-Nevada Prediction & Pick: Nevada -12.5 (-110)
Follow Us
Subscribe