Stephen Nover's West Coast Game of the Month
(NCAAB) Hawaii vs. Long Beach State, 02/07/2019 5:00 PM, Score: 77 - 70
Point Spread: 1.00 | -115.00 Hawaii (Away)
Result: Win
I'm usually attracted to the superior team in a pick or underdog spot. That's what we have here with Hawaii against Long Beach State.

Hawaii is 4-3 in the Big West Conference. The Warriors are in must-win mode being 2 1/2 games out of first place. They are ranked 189th in the highly respected Ken Pom ratings.

Long Beach State is 2-5 in the Big West with five consecutive losses. The 49ers are ranked 37 spots behind Hawaii by Ken Pom.

The Warriors are surrendering 15 fewer points per game than the 49ers during the past five games.

The two teams just met last Thursday and Hawaii was a 9 1/2-point home favorite. The Warriors shot 41.7 percent from the floor, missed 21 of 28 3-pointers and shot five fewer free throws yet still easily won, 74-57.

So what has caused around a 10-point difference in the line? Well Hawaii is leaving the island following a 75-54 home loss to Santa Barbara as 3-point favorites, but that's not nearly worth that many points.

The Warriors are 5-2 ATS in their last seven road games, 8-2 ATS in their last 10 road games following three or more straight home games and 9-1 ATS in their last 10 matchups versus a sub .500 opponent. Long Beach State is just 3-7 ATS in its past 10 games against foes with winning records.