TOM STRYKER’S FREE BASKETBALL SELECTION THURSDAY, JANUARY 23RD
#665 BYU (-) over Pacific at 10 PM EST
Off that crushing 23-point road loss at Gonzaga, BYU will bring its “A-Game” to the Spanos Center on Thursday night and pound host Pacific. The Tigers have dropped two of their last three games and they’ll have all kinds of problems with this angry Cougars squad. Let’s take a glance inside the numbers.
Sporting a solid 8-2 SU and 6-4 ATS record in the last 10 meetings, it is obvious the Stormin’ Mormons haven’t had any trouble with the Pac-Rat lately. Equally impressive, when coming off a straight up loss, BYU has been an absolute beast notching a powerful 39-9 SU and 29-14-2 ATS record in its last 48 tries. In this setting running the court against a conference foe, the Blue & White cruise to a money-making 23-2 SU and 20-5 ATS including a sensational 13-0 SU and 12-1 ATS provided they hit the hardwood off a blemish of 11 points or more. Also, as a conference guest competing with four or more days rest, the Cougars carry an elite 32-17 ATS mark provided their opponent scoots in off a straight up loss.
Off Saturday’s hard-fought 84-80 road loss at Santa Clara, this will be a tough encore for Pacific. As it stands, the Tigers have struggled against the Las Vegas pointspread notching a stiff 20-28-2 ATS record in their last 50 lined games. In this run facing a foe that arrives without confidence off a straight up loss, the Pac-Rat falls to an ugly 4-12-1 ATS in their last 17 battles. Also, since 2000, West Coast Conference home dogs that are matched up against a conference foe hold a shocking 22-128 SU and 55-90-5 ATS record provided they arrive off a straight up road loss. If our “play against” side is priced as a single-digit pup, this conference trend dips to a woeful 20-74 SU and 29-62-3 ATS including a pitiful 6-39 SU and 8-35-2 ATS if they are fighting with a double-digit revenge margin.
There is a log-jam for second-place in the WCC right now. If the Cougars want to grab the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, then they’ll need to make sure they take care of business at Pacific and at San Francisco (Saturday) in their next two games. Take BYU. Thanks and best of luck, Tom.
Checking in with confidence off last night’s easy winner on Nevada, Lee heads back to the window in Las Vegas armed with one High Roller Club release that will deliver the mail. This power play is backed by one highly profitable 16-0 ATS angle and one elite 12-2 ATS team trend. Grab Lee’s HRC Slam Dunk Game of the Month for $30.