No. 12 UNLV comes calling on Air Force

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

01/28/2012 - USAFA, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Closing in on the 20-win plateau, the 12th-ranked UNLV Runnin' Rebels take their act on the road tonight as they clash with the Air Force Falcons in Mountain West Conference action at Clune Arena.

Since losing to San Diego State by just two points in the conference opener two weeks ago, the Rebels have rattled off three straight victories in league action. The first two were quite easy as the team topped TCU and New Mexico by a combined 40 points, but on Wednesday night the Rebels were brought back to reality. Suited up against the newest addition to the MWC, Boise State, the Rebels found themselves having to go to overtime on the road, but in the end they still squeezed out the 77-72 victory at Taco Bell Arena.

As for the Falcons, they actually took care of the Broncos in their conference opener rather routinely (74-59), but since then the program has dropped three in a row and all against MWC foes. Most recently, it was TCU that got the better of Air Force three nights ago in a 59-56 final at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum in Fort Worth.

With respect to the all-time series between these two schools on the hardwood, the Rebels hold a commanding 26-8 advantage, winning the most recent game during the quarterfinals of the MWC Tournament in Las Vegas last season, 69-53. The Falcons have played well at home over the years, posting a 7-9 mark in the series, but heading into tonight's clash the Rebels have reeled off eight straight wins over The Academy.

UNLV led by as many as nine points in the second half against the Broncos on Wednesday night, but still the team was forced to go to overtime but thankfully the Rebels scored the first points of the bonus frame and never trailed, en route to the five-point triumph. Mike Moser had yet another incredible effort for UNLV as he led the team in both scoring and rebounding with 18 points and a staggering 21 boards, his 11th double-double of the campaign. Chace Stanback and Oscar Bellfield contributed with 15 and 13 points, respectively, the latter handing out six assists as well. Moser has been an absolute beast in the paint for the Rebels with his 11.7 rpg, one of the highest averages in college basketball, his 14.2 ppg trailing only Stanback who is producing 14.7 ppg on the strength of his 47.9 percent accuracy behind the three-point line. Anthony Marshall (12.0 ppg) can not only score the ball he can also get it to teammates in key scoring situations, resulting in 103 assists which is actually second on the roster to Bellfield (9.1 ppg) who has dished out 114 over 22 games.

The Falcons were held silent for the final 4:05 of the second half on Wednesday night as they suffered the three-point loss to TCU on the road. Taylor Broekhuis tried to keep hope alive with his 15 points and seven rebounds, while Mike Fitzgerald and Todd Fletcher chipped in 14 and 12 points, respectively, but the team managed just seven points off the bench and a mere four offensive rebounds in the meeting. Despite being held to minimal production yet again, Michael Lyons is still the leading scorer for the Falcons with his 13.8 ppg, his 4.7 rpg also one of the top marks for a program that is notoriously weak on the glass. Fitzgerald is responsible for another 11.3 ppg, but between he and Lyons there's just 29 assists and 63 turnovers, a ration that is far from successful at any level. Nevertheless, the Falcons give themselves a fighting chance thanks to a defense that is one of the best in the nation with holding foes to just 57.3 ppg.

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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