Check out our free UNLV vs Colorado State pick and preview for this NCAA Basketball game in Fort Collins. See who we like to win and cover the spread in this College Basketball matchup.
UNLV vs Colorado State Pick & Preview: Tuesday, January 31st Betting Odds
Runnin’ Rebels vs Rams Matchup at a Glance
- Sport: NCAAB
- Teams: UNLV Runnin’ Rebels at Colorado State Rams
- Where: Fort Collins at Moby Arena
- Date: Tuesday, January 31st
- Betting Odds: UNLV +3, UNLV +127 | COLST -156 O/U 144.5
Runnin’ Rebels Preview:
Heading into today’s matchup vs Colorado State, the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels will be taking the floor for the 22nd time this season and have an overall record of 14-7. On the road, the Runnin’ Rebels will be playing their 6th game of the season, having gone 3-3. So far, the Runnin’ Rebels have been the underdog 4 times, going 2-2 straight up. Heading into today’s contest, they are the +3 underdogs on the spread.
UNLV’s leading scorer this season is EJ Harkless, who is averaging 17.0 points per contest. So far, Harkless has accounted for 22.37% of the team’s scoring. In addition, he is contributing 5.05 rebounds per game and 3.48 assists. Keshon Gilbert is the second leading scorer for the Runnin’ Rebels, averaging 11.95 points per game. Between him and Gilbert, they are accounting for 38.1% of the team’s scoring.
Offensive production has been hard to come by for UNLV this season, as they are currently ranked 242nd in college basketball at 69.9 points per game. A major reason for low scoring totals is the fact that they have played at a below average pace, and have struggled to knock down outside shots. As a team, the Runnin’ Rebels’ 3-point shooting percentage sits at just 33.9%, placing them 264th in the NCAA.
Rams Preview:
Through 22 games, the Colorado State Rams have an overall record of 10-12. So far this season, Colorado State has played 12 games at home, sitting with a record of 7-5. The Rams’ are sitting with a betting line that is -3 points in their favor. For the season, Colorado State has been favored to win in 11 games, sitting with a mark of 6-5.
Colorado State will be counting on another strong performance from the team’s leading scorer John Tonje who is averaging 13.0 points per game for the Rams. Tonje is also important to the team’s ability to score on the perimeter. So far, he leads the team in 3-point shots made. Also key to the Rams’ offensive game plan is the play of Patrick Cartier who has hit 64.6% of his field goal attempts on his way to averaging 12.86 points per game.
On offense, Colorado State comes into the game looking to control the pace of play, as they are just 598th in possessions per game. Even with their preference to slow the game down, the Rams’ are scoring at a rate similar to the NCAA average at 73.7 points per game. So far, 38.91% of their shots have come from beyond the arc, where they have connected at a rate of 35.8%.
Free Spread Prediction: UNLV Runnin’ Rebels +3
A key to this matchup, will be 3-point shooting. Coming into the game, both Colorado State and UNLV are excellent 3-point shooting teams, averaing 7.63 and 9.0 made 3’s per game, respectively. In terms of the odds, we like the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels to cover as +3 point dogs. Look for their defense to do a good enough job closing out on the Rams’ outside shooters to make things difficult for Colorado State. At +3 we like the chances of UNLV covering the spread as underdogs.
