[reggie1]

Sides, 122-117 +19.08
Totals, 14-17, -12.80
Year, 136-134, +6.28

If you’ve paid any attention to Selection Sunday over the course of the past two years, you’ve continually seen teams from the CAA get bent over time and time again. In what seems a down year, I think both VCU and George Mason probably realize what is at stake tonight. In terms of the game itself, I have a feeling George Mason is playing with a bit more pressure than VCU. A loss here, and VCU is still in the conference lead. However, a win by VCU and George Mason is all but done for (they’d be 3 games back but essentially it’d be 4 games b/c these two only play once this year and the tie breaker is head to head). So, gun to my head I like VCU and the points. Guard play is a key to winning on the road in a tough and hostile environment and I think VCU has what it takes to control the game. But I’m not touching it.

I’d much rather focus on the home dog on ESPNU catching the points in a revenge game while Austin Peay has a lookahead to 2nd place Murray State and the conference title on the line only two days away when Murray visits the PEE-dome. I know SEMO has flat out sucked since losing Foust, but they still have the talent to win this ballgame. This will be Austin Peay’s third straight roady in the last 6 days, where they played an up-tempo Jacksonville State squad on the road, then visited a slow-a$$ tempo team in Samford and now have to turn around against a team who kept it close on your home court and get out and go-go-go and more than likely play a game in the upper 70s to mid 80s. While SEMO has looked awful over the past few weeks since the loss of Foust, I’m going to go ahead and say that was more of a letdown within the team rather than losing Foust. They hosted Murray State in a home game where they just flat out sucked and got trounced. That same week they traveled to PEE and dropped a close one. When you’re sitting in first and your expectations have risen, you want the best to happen, and when it doesn’t, it all comes crashing down, like the recent six game slide. Not only that, but their coach was suspended for the Murray State game on Saturday b/c he was b*tching about officiating in last week’s games. They’ve had two nice situational opportunities to look ahead for the rest of the season, and if they don’t convert on at least 1 outta the 2, they’re absolutely done for. They went from 6-0 to being 6-6 in the conference. It was nice to see them keep the revenge game close at Murray State over the weekend (they lost by 1 as a 10.5 point puppy) and that was opportunity #1 at turning your season around and trying to at least get a home game for the conference tournament. Getting your coach back, having ESPN visit your school (which is rare for SEMO), getting a team that has traditionally been a conference champion visit your place after having beating you by 3, 1, and 3 points the last three meetings, sort of a pretty good revenge spot I’d say. Tonight is opportunity #2.

5* SEMO +4

GL