College Basketball Game of the Day, Feb. 25: UNLV vs. San Jose State

Selection Sunday is under a month away, and the race to get to the right side of the bubble is on for many programs. It’s Big Tuesday in college basketball, and there are a ton of intriguing matchups on deck. In this breakdown, I will highlight the game itself and all aspects of this matchup. This will be a weekly piece-and it will add to our already-robust niche sports content. Let’s dive into this late-night MWC battle.

UNLV vs. San Jose State

(UNLV -2.5, O/U 137.5, DraftKings Sportsbook)

The beauty of sports betting is that it makes us care deeply about a pair of middling MWC teams, and we are the only ones outside of the actual fans of these programs (ha). The San Jose State Spartans enter this home matchup with a 13-16 record after defeating Wyoming 82-73 in their last game.

UNLV fell 53-61 at home to Colorado State and are now 14-13. This is a much tougher road game than most probably expect, and it certainly won’t be easy for the Runnin’ Rebels. They are led by star guard Dedan Thomas (15.6 PPG) and get solid contributions from Jaden Henley (11 PPG), Jailen Bedford (10.2 PPG) and Jeremiah Cherry (9.8 PPG).

Meanwhile, the Spartans have dealt with injuries to key personnel but are getting healthy at the right time as they look to head into the conference tournament with serious momentum. Utah State transfer Josh Uduje has been the straw that stirs the drink for the Spartans as he averages 16.4 PPG, 4.4 RPG and 1.1 SPG. UCLA transfer Will McClendon has proven himself to be more than capable after underperforming at the P-5 level. He has averaged a solid 12 PPG and team-high 2.8 APG. Sharpshooter Latrell Davis rounds out the group of relevant options. He is knocking down 40% of his long-range jumpers while averaging just over 11 PPG.

UNLV is 8-2 in their last 10 games against San Jose State straight up but the Spartans are 4-2 against the spread in their last 6 meetings. UNLV won 79-73 at home earlier this season against SJSU but they failed to cover the spread in that game.

With both teams being evenly matched on paper the value is clearly with the home team, and I’ll gladly take the Spartans +2.5 in this spot all day long.