New Mexico vs. San Francisco Prediction and Odds for Monday, December 12 (Take Advantage of Late Night Track Meet)
By Josh Yourish
The Mountain West is fast becoming one of the top mid-major conferences in college basketball and the New Mexico Lobos might be the class of that conference this season. They’re 9-0 and have already beaten one of the top teams from the WCC in the Saint Mary’s Gaels.
Now they’ll take on the 8-2 San Francisco Dons in a very interesting and important non-conference matchup. This could be a game that is looked back on when deciding the at-large bids in early March.
First, here is what Vegas thinks about this matchup.
New Mexico vs. San Francisco Odds, Spread and Total
New Mexico vs. San Francisco Prediction and Pick
The last time San Francisco ventured into the Mountain West they lost 82-64 to Utah State, so they need a much better performance tonight. They’ll lean on their backcourt of Tyrell Roberts and Khalil Shabazz, who both average 14 points a night to carry their offense. However, even if they both have a big game, it might not be enough against the Lobos. New Mexico averages 85.7 points a game which is 11th-best in the country.
Morris Udeze, Jamal Mashburn Jr. and Jaelen House all average over 16 points a night for New Mexico and Udeze does it while shooting 64% from the field. They dominate from the inside out and play at a very fast pace that gives their efficient offense a lot of opportunities to score. They average the 37th most possessions a night, which is one of the main reasons they’re so scary for opponents at the offensive end. San Francisco’s offense isn’t at that same level efficiency-wise, but in terms of KenPom adjusted tempo, they are 37th, which means this game could easily turn into a track meet.
It’s a very high total, but these are two fast-paced teams who don’t rely on outside shooting, so even if they’re cold from three they’ll still get their buckets. It feels like a safe spot to bet the over on this late-night game.
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change