Posted on 3/3/2008 5:24:13 PM

College Basketball Spreads - Pepperdine Waves at San Francisco Dons

By Charles Jay

BetUS NCAA basketball betting odds: SAN FRANCISCO -4, Total 152.5

The Pepperdine Waves (10-19 SU, 16-10 ATS), looking to gather a little momentum as they head to the West Coast Conference tournament, visit the Bay Area on Monday night when they take on the San Francisco Dons (8-20 SU, 10-15 ATS) in a conference game that is scheduled to tip off at 10 PM ET at the War Memorial Gymnasium in San Francisco.

In the BetUS NCAA college basketball betting odds, San Francisco is listed as a four-point favorite, with a total of 152.5 points.

Here are some of the NCAA college basketball betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

* PEPP has covered four of its last five games

* PEPP has lost 13 of its last 18 games SU

* PEPP has covered nine of its last 12 road games

* PEPP has lost eight of its last ten road games SU

* PEPP has played eight of its last 12 road games UNDER the total

* SF has covered one of its last seven games

* SF has lost 15 of its last 19 games SU

* SF has played four of its last five games OVER the total

* SF has covered one of its last six home games

* SF has covered four of the last five meetings

* SF has won the last five meetings SU

* PEPP has covered four of the last six meetings as the road team

* SF has had the shooting edge in three of the last five meetings

* SF has had the rebounding edge in four of the last five meetings

* PEPP has made more three-pointers in four of the last five meetings

The legendary Eddie Sutton took over as head coach at San Francisco in late December, and his team has shown some improvement in the shooting department, occasionally getting beyond 60 points. But it hasn't translated to many wins, and in fact none over better teams. In fact, the Dons have covered just one of their last seven games, and haven't proven to be much of a three-point threat.

Meanwhile, Pepperdine, though a poor shooting team (less than 38% in three of its last four) has nonetheless continued to play hard in all areas for interim coach Eric Bridgeland, which was initially a big concern because of the nature of the coaching transition. But all of a sudden, you've got the Waves winning three of their last five games, and in one of the losses they were very competitive with defensive-minded San Diego, one of the better teams in the WCC.

True, Pepperdine turns the ball over a lot (17.2 a game), but they also force a lot of miscues on the part of the opponent (10.2 steals per contest). At this point in the season, when teams don't really have much of a chance to make an impact in the conference tournament, we usually like the team that shows they're trying hard. And if they're getting points, that's maybe a bonus.

So we'll take the points with Pepperdine, the four-point underdog in the BetUS NCAA college basketball betting odds.

JAY'S PLAY: PEPPERDINE

Go to the BetUS.com online sportsbook today to bet on NCAA basketball. We have the most current NCAA basketball odds and lines, as well as player and game props. Join BetUS.com to experience the best in online sports betting action!

(Charles Jay of http://www.eBookies.com gives it the old college try as a regular contributor to the BetUS Locker Room)